Key Takeaways
- • Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is among the parties in talks to acquire iwoca, the fast-growing UK small business lender, according to Sky News.
- • The auction, run by Qatalyst Partners, has been underway for several weeks and could value iwoca at roughly £1bn.
- • iwoca provided £1.5bn in SME loans last year, up more than 50% year on year, and has lent over £6bn since its founding in 2012.
- • Existing backers include Augmentum Fintech and Commerzbank's CommerzVentures.
Summary
Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm with an extensive background in banking and financial services, is circling iwoca, the small business lender that funds tens of thousands of British SMEs, according to Sky News. The publisher reports that the buyout firm is among the parties in talks about a potential acquisition of the company.
An auction of iwoca has been running for several weeks and is being managed by bankers at Qatalyst Partners. The sale process could value the lender at somewhere in the region of £1bn, according to the report. Warburg Pincus declined to comment on the matter.
iwoca was founded in 2012 by chief executive Christoph Rieche and James Dear. Last year the company provided £1.5bn in SME loans, a rise of more than 50% on the previous year, and has lent over £6bn in total since launch. The company is backed by investors including Augmentum Fintech and Commerzbank's CommerzVentures.
Rieche said recently that while iwoca is now lending at scale and announcing new products and partnerships, "the funding gap continues to widen," reiterating the company's mission to finance underserved SMEs.
An auction of iwoca has been running for several weeks and is being managed by bankers at Qatalyst Partners. The sale process could value the lender at somewhere in the region of £1bn, according to the report. Warburg Pincus declined to comment on the matter.
iwoca was founded in 2012 by chief executive Christoph Rieche and James Dear. Last year the company provided £1.5bn in SME loans, a rise of more than 50% on the previous year, and has lent over £6bn in total since launch. The company is backed by investors including Augmentum Fintech and Commerzbank's CommerzVentures.
Rieche said recently that while iwoca is now lending at scale and announcing new products and partnerships, "the funding gap continues to widen," reiterating the company's mission to finance underserved SMEs.
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