Partly acquiring London-based FairXchange, United Fintech makes third acquisition in first year of operation to “save big banks from Big Tech.” And according to its Danish CEO Christian Frahm, the fintech platform is becoming an increasingly desired “one-stop-shop” for big banks in need of technological innovation, prompting additional acquisitions to emerge on the horizon: “The City and Wall Street will see bigger disruption in the next 10 years than they have seen in the past 100 years,” says CEO.
As a first transaction in a multi-stage acquisition towards full ownership, United Fintech has acquired a 25% stake in London-based FairXchange (the “Company”) for an undisclosed amount in a transaction integrating the Company, its products and employees onto its digital platform. Trading firms use FairXchange’s state-of-the-art analytical tools to facilitate data-driven dialogue with their counterparties, bringing clarity and transparency to execution performance through the provision of independent data. And according to United Fintech CEO Christian Frahm, FairXchange fits hand-in-glove with United Fintech’s strategy of acquiring state-of-the-art Capital Markets software products ready for scaling and global roll-out on United Fintech’s platform.
“FairXchange’s business-critical, data-driven product, Horizon, is already being used by an extensive client base including a number of global financial institutions, and with the onboarding to United Fintech’s platform, we look forward to enabling FairXchange to continue its growth journey and scale with us. As United Fintech will onboard the Company’s clients and FairXchange will get an opportunity to grow within our clientele, this is a mutual win for both parties – and a milestone for United Fintech, completing its third transaction in just one year,” says Christian Frahm, noting that the acquisition won’t have any impact on everyday business for FairXchange’s clients or employees, adding that ahead of the transaction, United Fintech showed Horizon to six major global banks, aligning it with their product roadmaps.
From start-up to scale-up
Over the next few years, it is United Fintech’s ambition to complete multiple strategic acquisitions of ready-to-scale fintechs with proven Capital Markets products, positive cash flow and growth potential; to build a fintech “one-stop-shop” that global banks can benefit from – and become market leader in this niche. The ambition is to help big banks and financial institutions accelerate the implementation of innovative digital technology, and according to FairXchange’s Founder and CEO, former Morgan Stanley executive Guy Hopkins, United Fintech’s platform is the market’s most suitable candidate to fulfill that exact mission.
”FairXchange has seen rapid, exciting growth in recent years; however we are still a small team and as we scale up we recognise the importance of choosing the right partner to help us accelerate that growth. From the first conversation, we knew United Fintech was the perfect fit; a compelling vision, an innovative business model and a very impressive management team with deep expertise in financial markets. We’re looking forward to joining the United Fintech platform, increasing our own reach while also contributing to the wider success of the group,” says Guy Hopkins, who will continue to lead the Company as the designated Trading Analytics product on United Fintech’s platform.
Banks at slow motion in a lightspeed world
With more than 100 employees in Copenhagen, London, New York, Berlin and Romania and having completed three acquisitions already, it may come as a surprise that United Fintech launched just a year ago in November 2020 during the Corona crisis. However, United Fintech has been a long way coming for Danish-born Christian Frahm, who in 2016 sold his first fintech firm CFH Group to British-listed Playtech Plc. Although the discreet deal made Frahm a familiar face in fintech, it didn’t fulfill the native Dane’s ambition to “save big banks from Big Tech” – a phrase which has become the informal mission slogan of United Fintech. And according to Christian Frahm, fintech is what all of the financial industry is currently scrambling to get ahead of; to compete with the emerging threats from startups and scaleups like Stripe, Revolut etc. as well as Big Tech and Silicon Valley.
“The City and Wall Street will see bigger disruption in the next 10 years than they have seen in the past 100 years. The whole industry desperately needs to access the most innovative minds and products globally, but the onboarding at all bigger institutions is killing any chance of new products actually getting into the banks in the first place. We are born as a partner for banks to help them transition quickly from slow motion into this lightspeed world. The next 10 years is all about speed for the banks. And they no longer have the luxury to do it by themselves. Banks need partners. United FIntech unites founders of the most innovative fintech businesses globally and brings them to the big banks under one central umbrella – an innovation platform where banks feel comfortable taking risk on new products; so that they can faster and more seamlessly onboard new technology. And the acquisition of FairXchange is a great example of doing exactly that,” concludes Christian Frahm.
About FairXchange
FairXchange specializes in microstructural analysis of financial markets and brings clarity and transparency to execution performance through the provision of independent data. Its state-of-the-art analytical product, Horizon is designed to facilitate constructive, data-driven dialogue between counterparties, helping them to identify mutually profitable opportunities. FairXchange is completely independent and has no affiliation with any liquidity providers or trading venues.
About United Fintech
United Fintech acquires and scales innovative fintechs in capital markets, creating a go-to fintech platform that financial institutions can benefit from to accelerate their transition to a digital world. In addition to FairXchange, United Fintech acquisitions to date include NetDania, which provides market data, APIs, market terminals, charting components and full white-labels, and TTM Zero, which develops fully digitized RegTech and Capital Markets Tech solutions. Headquartered in London, United Fintech’s team consists of world-class experts in each aspect of building, growing, and scaling fintech businesses. United Fintech employs over 100 people across five offices: London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Romania, and the US.
