Banco Santander is to pay £350 million to acquire a 50.1% majority stake in Ebury, a provider of corporate banking services to SMEs that trade internationally.
Ebury, which operates in 19 countries and 140 currencies, has processed £16.7 billion in payments for its 43,000 clients trading across Europe and the Americas.
Under the terms of the transaction, Santander will acquire a 50.1% controlling stake for £350m, of which £70m will be new primary equity to support Ebury’s plans to enter new markets in Latin America and Asia.
Santander serves more than four million SME clients worldwide, of which more than 200,000 do international business.
Ana Botín, group executive chairman of Banco Santander, says: “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. By partnering with Ebury, Santander will deliver faster and more efficient products and services for SMEs, previously only accessible to larger corporates.”
For Ebury, the deal will enable it to leverage Santander’s capabilities, brand and correspondent bank network to establish new bank partnerships.
Juan Lobato and Salvador García, co-founders of Ebury, says: “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."