Santander (SAN.MC) announced on Monday to have taken a $453 Million (350 million pound) stake in Ebury in an aim to boost growth through a digital strategy.
Ebury is a U.K.-based trade and Forex facilitator for smaller companies. The company operates in 19 countries and 140 currencies.
Santander announced it would be acquiring 50.1% of Ebury for the worth of $453 Million. $90 Million of this will be allocated as new primary equity to fund Ebury’s plans to enter Asia and Latin America.
Santander is expecting a return on invested capital higher than 25% in 2024.
“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,” Ana Botin, Santander executive chairman, said.
Similar to other European banks, Spanish lenders have invested in more profitable enterprise lending in an aim to increase profit as low interest rates squeeze financial margins.
Santander is also focusing on emerging economies as they cut costs to counter squeezed margins from very low interest rates in many European markets.
Santander said that Ebury’s current investors, co-founders, and management would reinvest in the deal and that the present management team will remain in position.
Ebury has an average annual revenue growth of 40% in the past three years, Santander said.
Britain on Wednesday signed a supply deal for up to 60 million doses of a possible COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed by pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi. The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. However, ...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Monday that UBS Financial Services Inc. (UBSG) would pay more than $10 Million to resolve charges regarding certain municipal bond offerings. UBS has agreed to pay the fine after SEC ...
Singapore said on Monday it is ready to release its developed blockchain-based payments network that would pave the way for faster and cheaper international settlements. The Monetary Authority of Singapore joined forces with state investor ...
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA) co-founder Jack Ma sold $8.2 billion worth of shares, reducing his stake in the company over the past year from 6.2% to 4.8%. The Chinese e-commerce company released its annual report on Friday. The divestment ...
The United States Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims edged down to a near four-month low since last week, while 32.9 Million Americans collected unemployment benefits in the third week of June. The government agency ...