Exits & Deep Reads

Will the Klarna IPO save fintech? (TWIF 3/9)

@inthemeadow

Hello Fintech Friends,

In case you missed it, here was your week in fintech:

Please find another week of fintech exits and deep reads below.

(👍👎 Have feedback for us? Let us know. Find me at @nikmilanovic, @twifintech, and @ndm)

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📖 Reads of the Week

☯️ Exits

💻 IPOs & SPACs

Buy now pay later giant Klarna is looking to file its initial public offering as early as next week. The fintech is working with 15 banks for the listing, which will likely take place on the New York Stock Exchange to raise as much as $1 billion with a market valuation of $15 billion.

🤝 M&A - Fintech

Nayax acquired Brazil's UpPay, expanding its global payment solutions portfolio.
American Express announced plans to acquire Center (reportedly for $600 million), a Seattle-area expense management startup, to extend its reach into the corporate expense management market.
Market infrastructure provider Apex Fintech is considering acquiring struggling crypto exchange technology Bakkt to expand its digital asset services.
Behavox purchased Mosaic Smart Data, a company specializing in extracting actionable intelligence from transaction data, to enhance its AI-driven financial services.
Morningstar acquired Lumonic and DealX, aiming to bolster its data and analytics capabilities in the financial sector.
Genstar Capital reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in First Eagle Investment Management, strengthening its position in the asset management industry.
Airwallex signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vietnam's CTIN Pay, an intermediary payment service licensed company, to expand its presence in Southeast Asia.
Jamf announced plans to acquire Identity Automation to enhance its dynamic identity and access management solutions.
Coadvantage and PrimePay announced a merger to combine their resources and expertise in human resources and payroll services.

Airwallex just planted its flag in Vietnam.

The cross-border payments giant acquired CTIN Pay, securing a local payments license and deeper access to one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies. 👇
— Nik (@NikMilanovic) March 6, 2025

🏦 M&A - Bank and FinServ

J.C. Flowers purchased Pepper Advantage, a credit management firm with operations in Europe and Asia, from its parent Pepper Global.
ING acquired a 7.2% stake in Dutch private bank Van Lanschot Kempen for €350 million, increasing its total stake to 9.9%.
The Norwegian government sold its 15% stake in Eksportfinans to DNB Bank, receiving approximately 750 million crowns ($68.88 million) from the sale. Eksportfinans had ceased granting new loans since 2012 when the state established another company for export crediting.
Blackstone Inc.'s credit and insurance arm purchased a minority stake in ITE Management, a firm focused on investing in transportation infrastructure
State Street and Mizuho Financial entered into an agreement for State Street to acquire Mizuho’s global custody and related businesses outside of Japan.