M&A advisory for fintech companies
Fintech M&A is shaped by one thing other tech sectors barely touch: the regulator sits at the closing table. A change of control on an EMI, payment institution or banking licence requires sign-off from the FCA, BaFin, ACPR or equivalent - and the timeline is set by the regulator, not the buyer. Deals can be commercially agreed in weeks and then wait six to twelve months on a Section 178 / change-of-control filing.
The buyer universe is well-defined. Payment networks (Visa, Mastercard), large acquirers (Adyen, Stripe, Worldline, Nexi), neobank consolidators, embedded-finance strategics and a deep bench of fintech-focused PE (Advent, Permira, Hellman & Friedman, GA, Silver Lake) are the names that actually deploy. They underwrite on take rate quality, unit economics net of fraud and provisioning, capital intensity, and how clean the regulatory perimeter is. A messy licence structure or a take rate that doesn't survive interchange shifts will kill a fintech deal faster than any commercial issue.
Flow advises founders and investors across payments, neobanking, lending, insurance and embedded finance - sell-side and buy-side, with the regulatory choreography built into the process plan from day one.
M&A goes smoother with an advisor that understands fintech
We speak regulator
Change of control on a PI, EMI or banking licence is the gating item in every fintech deal. We map the FCA / BaFin / ACPR approval path before LOI, build it into the SPA conditions, and keep the regulatory workstream moving in parallel to commercial close so the deal doesn't drift for a year.
Tap the consolidator universe
Fintech exits run through a tight list - Visa, Mastercard, Adyen, Stripe, Worldline, Nexi, neobank platforms and the fintech PE bench (Advent, Permira, GA, Silver Lake, Hellman & Friedman). We've sat across the table from many of them, including on our work with Rebellion Pay, and know which name is actually buying right now.
Defend the take rate
Buyers model take rate net of interchange, scheme fees, fraud, chargebacks and capital cost - and the resulting number is often half the headline. We rebuild the unit economics the way diligence will, before the data room opens, so the gross profit story holds up under QofE rather than collapsing to a price chip.
Structure around the licence
Capital requirements, safeguarded funds, lending book provisioning and reg capital relief all sit inside the deal mechanics - they're not afterthoughts. We structure consideration, escrows and reps around the regulated balance sheet, so the founder actually receives the value the headline implies after the regulator is done.
Recent M&A deals we closed
We've closed sell-side and buy-side transactions across European, US and emerging-market tech.
Our M&A track record spans strategic exits to corporate acquirers, PE buyouts, and cross-border deals where regulatory and structuring complexity actually matters.
We acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to Rebellion Pay, Spain's leading Gen Z neobanking platform, on its sale to Turkish consumer fintech unicorn Papara.
Recent M&A advisory fintech track record
Selected M&A transactions and prior deal experience.
M&A advisory for all fintech niches
From Blockchain, crypto & web3 to financial data & analytics, we're a specialized M&A advisor to fintech companies.
Our M&A experience spans across all fintech verticals.
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We know tech inside & out.
We live and breath tech - true understanding of how startups operate is fundamental at what we do.
Recent fintech insights
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