Brokerage firm IG Group has bought investment platform Freetrade in a £160m acquisition deal, the company announced on Thursday.
Founded in 2016, Freetrade’s commission-free investment platform allows its 720,000 customers to trade and invest in UK, US and European stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The app experienced rapid growth during the pandemic-era trading boom, with a peak valuation of £650m in 2021.
Since then, it has had to contend with a pullback in the number of retail investors amid high inflation and a decline in venture funding sloshing around the sector. In 2022, the company cut 15% of its staff and, in August last year, it announced it was pulling out of the Swedish market.
IG Group looks set to acquire Freetrade for less than a quarter of its 2021 valuation, with the deal expected to be completed in mid-2025 subject to regulatory approvals. Freetrade will continue to operate as a standalone business with its own branding. The fintech’s management team as well as its CEO and cofounder Viktor Nebehaj will remain at the company.
“This is an exciting opportunity to accelerate our growth and delivery of new products and features on our award-winning platform,” said Nebehaj in a statement. “IG’s vision for Freetrade is closely aligned with our own and its backing will be of huge benefit as we continue to scale the business.”
Freetrade’s acquisition is the latest suggestion that the market for fintech M&A will warm up in 2025. Last week, credit bureau Transunion announced it was set to acquire UK fintech Monevo in one of the first M&A deals for the fintech sector this year. On Monday, London-based crypto checkout startup Helio was acquired by US crypto payments company MoonPay.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/freetrade-sold-news/
