BNP Paribas to acquire Kantox

The company said that the acquisition will help make its technology available to a wider range of corporate customers worldwide. The deal is the latest evolution of a relationship between Kantox and BNP Paribas that extends back more than three years.

Kantox offers a single, application programming interface (API)-driven, plug-and-play solution that helps companies optimise their foreign exchange (FX) workflow. Kantox’s technology gives businesses the ability to automate their currency risk management, build better hedging strategies, and lower costs. With its Currency Management Automation, Kantox enables corporate treasurers to deal with challenges ranging from an over-reliance on manual processes to a fragmented FX workflow due to the absence of end-to-end solutions.

Kantox’s technology will be put to work for the Global Markets business of BNP Paribas’ CIB division, and the business centers of the Commercial, Personal, and Banking Services (CPBS) division. Both small businesses and large corporates will be the target markets for Kantox’s currency automation risk management offering.

BNP Paribas’ other acquisitions

In June 2022, BNP Paribas executives told the Dutch government that they would be interested in buying state-owned lender ABN Amro. ABN is still majority owned by the Dutch government after it was bailed out during the financial crisis. The state has not sold any shares since September 2017.

In February 2022, BNP Paribas has obtained all the necessary approvals and finalised the acquisition of Floa, a subsidiary of Casino group and Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel. The operation allows Floa to plan for a new cycle of development in this fast-growing ecommerce market characterised by changing customer expectations and usage of digital services.

In July 2021, BNP Paribas has completed the acquisition of its long-standing partner and equity brokerage Exane following confirmation of the deal in March. The bank has acquired the remaining 50% stake in Exane after a 17-year partnership in a deal that brings the bank’s cash equities trading and research and derivatives activities back in-house.

Acquisitions on the rise

It is clear that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in 2022 has been impacted by numerous economic and regulatory variables, which has created a significant amount of volatility and uncertainty. The volatility and uncertainty have made it more difficult to value and price target businesses. Not surprisingly, sellers have not brought down their pricing expectations so there is currently a valuation mismatch between buyers and sellers who missed last year’s sell window.

While some may be concerned about inflation and rising interest rates, historically these have not been halting factors for M&A. Although the cost of capital has increased and there is an overhang on the syndicated bank market, many companies are sitting on record numbers of cash reserve and private equity and family office investors still have significant amounts of cash ready for deployment.

While we may not see the volume of 2021, it’s safe to say savvy businesses will continue to make deals in the remainder of 2022 and attorneys will need to be prepared to weather the changing market conditions.