Fintech is a sector focused on new technologies that will disrupt the conventional market. Eventually, it is growing rapidly across the world. As this transformation is welcome in the industry, several fintech companies have erupted and have grown reaching billions in terms of value. With numerous technological advancements such as blockchain, there are various types of fintech startups each with their own way of operations.
The pandemic didn’t impact the European fintech sector as much as the travel and hospitality sector. The industry has, therefore, managed to keep the entire Europe startup ecosystem buoyant during the slump. Especially, in the Netherlands, fintech startups were thriving for many reasons. According to Dealroom, 13 Netherlands-based fintech startups got acquired in 2020. Here’s the list of the 13 deals that took place in 2020.
Sustainalytics (Amsterdam)
Founder/s: Michael Jantzi
Founded year: 1992
Acquisition value: €55M
In April, Morningstar, an investment research provider acquired Sustainalytics, which is a provider of social, environmental, and governance ratings and research. Already, Morningstar acquired 40% stake in the company and it will complete the remaining 60% of Sustainalytics when the deal closes. The deal was finalised at nearly €55M with the additional cash payments to take place in 2021 and 2022.
Blockchain Consulting (Amsterdam)
Founder/s: Michael Gord
Founded year: 2016
Acquisition value: NA
Leading blockchain infrastructure provider Genesis Group announced the acquisition of Blockchain Consulting in March this year. The acquisition comes after a long-standing relationship that Blockchain Consulting provided Genesis Group and its affiliated companies with blockchain software development, crypto market analysis, and strategic consulting services.
Tellow (Utrecht)
Founder/s: NA
Founded year: 2015
Acquisition value: NA
Rabo Frontier Ventures (RFV), which is a strategic investment fund of Rabobank invested in the fast-growing online accounting and bookkeeping marketplace Ageras in June. A part of the deal was effectuated by the acquisition of Tellow by Ageras Group for its international expansion. The acquisition was meant to explore the possibilities of developing accounting and financial services for SMEs.
Blockdata (Amsterdam)
Founder/s: Jonathan Knegtel, Lucas Schweiger, Niels Lucker
Founded year: 2018
Acquisition value: NA
Amsterdam-based Blockdata was acquired by CB Insights in September. As a result of the acquisition, CB Insights announced that it will open an office in Amsterdam and Blockdata will remain a standalone product with its team. Blockdata tracks the global blockchain economy and with its acquisition, CB Insights planned to make credible information about the blockchain and distributed ledger technology ecosystem available for its clients.
TerraPay (TerraPay)
Founder/s: Ambar Sur, Ram Sundaram, Aniruddha Sane, Akbar Hussain
Founded year: 2014
Acquisition value: NA
TerraPay, a company that makes sending and receiving money to and from emerging countries cheaper and easier was acquired by Prime Ventures and Partech Africa in Marc for an undisclosed amount. These companies also invested €8.3M in TerraPay along with IFC to fund its expansion.
Yuki (Rotterdam)
Founder/s: Arco van Nieuwland, Lucas Brentjens, Sebastian Toet
Founded year: 2007
Acquisition value: NA
Visma, a Norwegian cloud software company acquired Rotterdam-based accounting software company Yuki. This was Visma’s third acquisition in the accounting software market and it planned to take lead in the market and offer the most complete and innovative cloud ecosystem to accountants. Yuki continues to operate its business activities as an independent organisation post the acquisition but it works with other Visma accounting companies.
Eyefreight (Bunnik)
Founder/s: Yung Fu
Founded year: 2009
Acquisition value: NA
Eyefreight, a global leader in multi-modal SaaS Transportation Management Solutions (TMS) was acquired by Elemica, a leading digital supply network for manufacturing industries in January. As a result, TMS clients could take complete advantage of Elemica’s global end-to-end supply chain network and offer Elemica’s clients the ability to incorporate transportation management capabilities quickly to their supply chain.
S4Dunning (Huizen)
Founder/s: Marcel Blanken, Jeroen Jansen
Founded year: 2013
Acquisition value: NA
S4Dunning was acquired by Collenda, a leading provider of credit and collections management software solutions in September. Though it is a part of Collenda, S4Dunning continues to serve its customers and expand in new markets. Also, the company drives Collenda’s business and brings about customer satisfaction.
Blockport (Amsterdam)
Founder/s: Zowie Langdon, Kai Kain Bennink, Sebastiaan Lichter
Founded year: 2017
Acquisition value: NA
In January this year, Blockport, a social cryptocurrency investment platform was acquired by BUX. Due to the same, Blockport was rebranded to BUX Crypto and was integrated fully under the BUX brand. Also, as a part of the acquisition, BUX has plans to expand its service offerings and continue to drive its mission of becoming the only destination for young investors in Europe.
Unit4 Bedrijfssoftware (Utrecht)
Founder/s: Chris Ouwinga
Founded year: 1980
Acquisition value: NA
In September, a Dutch producer of business software Exact announced the acquisition of Unit4 Bedrijfssoftware, which is Unit4’s branch serving the Belgian and Dutch accountancy, corporate and SME sectors. As a result of the acquisition, Exact could offer a complete end-to-end financial and HR software suite for accountancy and SME firms. Also, Unit4 Bedrijfssoftware’s Venice Bookkeeping software was added to Exact’s Belgium lineup.
Smart2Pay (Laren)
Founder/s: NA
Founded year: 2002
Acquisition value: NA
Nuvei Corporation, a global payment technology partner announced the acquisition of Smart2Pay in November. With this acquisition, Nuvei’s presence in high-growth digital commerce verticals was strengthened and it has plans to expand into additional regions. Also, this deal created one of the most complete and largest alternative payment method (APM) solution providers in the world.
Davinci (Amsterdam)
Founder/s: NA
Founded year: 1991
Acquisition value: NA
Ohpen, a Dutch cloud banking fintech acquired Davinci, a SaaS provider for an undisclosed sum in September. As a part of the investment, Ohpen planned to bolster its product offering and turn its focus towards international expansion. Moreover, Ohpen wasl be able to provide a comprehensive service to its customers.
AcceptEasy (Amstelveen)
CEO: Peter Kwakernaak
Founded year: 2006
Acquisition value: NA
In February, AcceptEasy, provider of an omnichannel Electronic Bill Presentment & Payment (EBPP) and Request-to-Pay (RTP) processing solutions was acquired by Serrala Group, which is a leading fintech company and payment software provider. Serrala Group had acquired the majority shares of AcceptEasy. This move expanded Serrala’s SaaS range in the areas of EBPP and RTP solutions in the B2C and increasingly in the B2B environment and strengthened Serrala’s offerings in connectivity and digital payment methods.