Turkish neobank Papara has acquired Spanish counterpart Rebellion, creating Europe's latest fintech unicorn.
Founded in 2015, Papara hit profitability in just two years and now has a userbase of 16 million, with no outside investment.
Now, the firm is taking on Europe, buying Rebellion from Beka Finance in a multi-million dollar cash and stock transaction that brings Papara’s valuation to over $1 billion.
Rebellion will rebrand to Papara Spain, with employees joining Papara’s rapidly expanding team, which grew by 43% in the last 12 months, and report into CEO Emre Kenci.
Ahmed Karslı, chairman, Papara, says: "2023 is the year in which we are beginning to execute our ambitious international growth strategy, and we are confident that Rebellion is the perfect foundation upon which to expand our global reach.
"The business and team stood out to us for a number of reasons, primarily its unrivalled local market knowledge, best-in-class products and, most importantly, alignment of goals to our own."