Third-largest German cooperative bank sells digital payment subsidiary in Berlin. The bank was advised by London M&A specialist Capstan Capital.
Whilst deal volume and sizes in the digital payment sector dropped precipitously from its peak in late 2021 our research found that M&A deal count appears to have held up against this trend by only shedding around 13% through to early 2023 (Europe and NA). Such reading suggests that digital payments has become a mature sector within the fintech industry but also that companies need to be acquisitive to keep up with the high pace of innovation.
Our team advised cooperative bank Volksbank eG – Gestalterbank on the disposal of their shares in digital payments provider Micropayment while the bank kept its subsidiary for merchant acquiring. As multiple expansion in the digital payments sector is becoming more difficult in today’s market environment it could well be banks rather than private equity funds that will drive M&A activity in the midterm.