Spanish bank Banco Santander has agreed to acquire a 50.1% stake in Ebury, a trade and foreign exchange facilitator for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), for £350m ($451m).
Based in the UK, Ebury operates a worldwide distribution platform supported by a data-driven business model.
Operating in 19 countries and 140 currencies, Ebury offers a full suite of foreign exchange and international payments services with competitive pricing and flexibility. Its customer base includes SMEs, mid-corporates, banking partners and non-banking financial institution partners.
Furthermore, Santander’s investment will support Ebury’s plans to enter new markets in Latin America and Asia.
The bank said that Ebury’s existing investors, including co-founders and management, will reinvest in the transaction and the current management team will remain leading the UK firm’s expansion.
The acquisition of Ebury is in line with Santander’s digital strategy to accelerate growth in new ventures
The transaction will help Ebury to receive support from Santander in improving its value proposition. Santander already serves more than four million SME clients worldwide, of which more than 200,000 conduct international business operations.
Santander said that the investment in Ebury fits within its digital strategy to accelerate growth in new ventures and will strengthen its Global Trade Services offer.
Banco Santander group executive chairman Ana Botín said: “Small and medium-sized businesses are a major engine of growth around the world, creating new jobs and contributing up to 60% of total employment and up to 40% of national GDP in emerging economies.
“SMEs are becoming increasingly global and Santander is the best positioned bank to play a leading role to help them access global trade finance. By partnering with Ebury, Santander will deliver faster and more efficient products and services for SMEs, previously only accessible to larger corporates.”
Ebury co-founders Juan Lobato and Salvador García said: “Combining a big bank with nimble fintech means we can offer our clients the best of both worlds: they can benefit from our technology and high-quality service safe in the knowledge that they are counterparty to one of the world most important financial institutions.
“It is an exciting time for Ebury, we have just completed our first acquisition, and the new capital from Santander and our existing shareholders will allow us to invest in new ways to serve SMEs trading internationally and continue the growth in our business while keeping our entrepreneurial culture.”
