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BFD Expert Voices - Private Credit

BFD Expert Voices

This has been the slowest Q1 for global mergers and acquisitions since 2013, Axios Pro Rata author Dan Primack writes from Refinitiv data.

Year-over-year M&A declines were broad-based: Every macro sector but materials fell by double digits.

It's also the slowest overall quarter since Q2 2020, when COVID hit.

Why it matters: Dealmakers started their summer vacations in January.

🧠 What's happening: None of this is terribly surprising, given inflation, rising interest rates and waxing/waning/waxing recession fears.

In short, buyers fear overpaying. Sellers fear exiting near a bottom.

The big question is when activity will reignite.

"We are optimistic that dealmaking will return toward the end of 2023 as inflation and rates ease up," says Phil Isom, head of M&A at KPMG.

1. Deal flow turns to molasses

Illustration of a bored bear rolling its eyes.

First Citizens BancShares of Raleigh, North Carolina, has agreed to buy the commercial banking business of Silicon Valley Bank, which recently collapsed and was seized by the U.S. government, Axios' Dan Primack wrote.

Why it matters: This is a step toward stabilizing the nation's regional banking sector, after a month of tumult.

Read Monday's full newsletter, including a look at money flows. 

Plus: Monday's Pro Rata, on First Citizens' takeover of SVB.

Read Monday's full newsletter, including a look at money flows.

2. SVB finds a buyer

Anvil, a webform and e-signature software company, raised $5 million in additional Series A funding led by Craft Ventures, the company told Lucinda exclusively.

Details: Anvil, which focuses on financial sectors, got a boost from growth-stage fintechs and small to mid-size banks during the pandemic.

Banks used Anvil to create digital Paycheck Protection Program loan forms on their own websites.

Read Thursday's newsletter, including a new fraud fighter. 

Plus: Thursday's Pro Rata, on EQT's new dementia fund and notes from Axios' What's Next summit.

3. Embedding forms

Illustration of a digital filing folder icon and digital document icons surrounded by money elements and abstract shapes.

Playbook, a fintech automating tax savings across investment accounts, raised $7 million in Series A funding, the company told Axios exclusively.

Why it matters: Consumer-facing wealth management startups, including roboadvisors, have fallen out of favor among venture investors. Playbook is looking to defy that trend by focusing on tax optimization across multiple accounts.

Details: Telstra Ventures led the round with participation from Atomic.

Read the rest of Wednesday's newsletter, including funding for a messaging monitoring service for institutions. 

Plus: Wednesday's Pro Rata, on SoftBank's acquisition of e-commerce robots maker Berkshire Grey.

Read the rest of Wednesday's newsletter, including funding for a messaging monitoring service for institutions.

4. Tax-savings Playbook 

Illustration of a conveyor belt with percent symbols on it, which are being shrunk by a machine lowering from above.

Ingenico, one of the largest providers of payments hardware, today announced its acquisition of Phos, a software startup that can turn smartphones into terminals.

Why it matters: The acquisition marks a step in Ingenico's strategy of moving increasingly toward software over hardware.

Background: Apollo took Ingenico private back in October, carving it out of Worldline for an estimated $2.3 billion.

Read the rest of Tuesday's newsletter, including Pismo's prospective acquisition.

Plus: Tuesday's Pro Rata, on Alibaba's breakup.

5. Phones as payment terminals

Illustration of a phone with a mobile payment icon on the screen, unzipping to show cards and money inside.

E-commerce dealmaking went out like a lamb in 2022, with only $1 billion spread across 77 transactions during Q4, a PitchBook report finds.

Why it matters: Customers didn't curb their online purchases in 2022, but rising customer acquisition costs and shrinking margins continue to cool the market, Axios Pro editor Claire Rychlewski wrote Tuesday.

6. Chart of the week

Welcome to your Friday recap of the week that was in fintech, including a tax savings startup launching as we step into April. 

We start with Dan Primack's look at Q1 M&A data, and wrap with an update on VC funding in e-commerce. 

Have a great weekend, and we will see you back here on Monday morning with the fintech news you need. 

🙏 Thank you for reading us this week! And a special thanks to Michael Flaherty and Rob Reinalda for their editing support this week. 

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March 31, 2023

1. Deal flow turns to molasses