Fintechs for sale

Follow Us Get the newsletter Hi all, Julie here. For the last couple years, consolidation has come up a lot in my conversations about fintech. But the chatter usually centered around rumored future tie-ups and a slow stream of deals, rather than a flood. Man, did that change in 2019. First, there was payments consolidation. In January, Fiserv said it would buy First Data Corp. for $22 billion in a payment processing deal that marked one of the biggest financial mergers in a decade. Two months later, Fidelity National Information Services Inc. one-upped that deal with a $35.5 billion acquisition of Worldpay Inc. More recently, PayPal Holdings Inc. made its largest acquisition ever, the $4 billion purchase of coupon site Honey Science Corp. The moves comes as more companies try to pile on market share as quickly as possible, and win customers' hearts and minds before other fintechs can get to them. One-time upstarts have started to look increasingly formidable. Jack Dorsey's Square Inc. now has a $29 billion market cap, and Stripe Inc. has rocketed to a $35 billion valuation, making it one of the world's most valuable startups. Payments isn't the only sector looking to mergers as a way to deal with tech-fueled competitors. Remember when Robinhood Markets Inc.'s zero-fee trading prompted other brokerages to lower their own commissions, sometimes to $0? When fees shrink, scale becomes that much more important. That's part of the reason brokerage giant Charles Schwab Corp. is buying TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. for $26 billion. "This makes a lot of sense,'' said Devin Ryan, an analyst at JMP Securities, who believes companies will profit off the fintech consolidation. There are "lots of ways to cut expense in deals,'' he said. The question now is if this is if the trend will last, or if 2019's multibillion-dollar surge in finance M&A will subside for a while. One reason to expect things won't calm down is that, often, once a few big companies in an industry start merging, it puts pressure on the rest to keep up, or find themselves trying to slay giants. PayPal, for its part, has already said it anticipates gobbling up more startups. Don't be surprised if brokerages do the same. The finance technology space has changed radically over the last decade. It may just be getting going. —Julie VerHage Sponsor Content by Hitachi Hitachi Social Innovation is POWERING GOOD. We all have the power to do good and work hard to find solutions to the challenges we face. In that same spirit, Hitachi is collaborating with partners to accelerate Social Innovation by integrating digital technology with our expertise in infrastructure.   And here's what you need to know in global technology news: Uber's Europe Business Is at Risk After London Revokes License Uber has had its license revokes in its largest European market for the second time in less than three years. London regulators expressed concern over dozens of drivers making thousands of trips on the platform while using false identities.  Beyoncé and Mariah Carey Helped Turn Airbnb Into a Luxury Brand Here's the weird way Airbnb got introduced to the dozens of celebrities it's put up for free in luxury homes. Google Fires Four Employees, Including Staffer Tied to Protests Google fired four employees for what the technology giant said were violations of its data-security policies. That's escalated tension between management and activist workers at a company once revered for its open corporate culture. Allbirds Calls Out Amazon for Mimicking $95 Wool Sneaker Tech-bro shoemaker Allbirds is calling out Amazon for copying a pair of its $95 sneakers and selling them for one-third the price. SoftBank Launches $3 Billion Tender Offer for WeWork Shares SoftBank has started buying shares from WeWork shareholders, kicking off part of its rescue package for the flailing startup. One of those shareholders is likely to be ousted CEO Adam Neumann, who is entitled to sell as much as $970 million worth of his stock.   Like Bloomberg's Fully Charged? Subscribe for unlimited access to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.   You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Fully Charged newsletter. Unsubscribe | Bloomberg.com | Contact Us Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022