Railsr and Equals partner to optimise Embedded Finance in Europe

A consortium led by TowerBrook Capital Partners and J.C. Flowers & Co, with the participation of D Squared Capital and Moneta, has finalised its acquisition of Railsr.

This partnership combines Equals Money’s knowledge in multi-currency accounts, FX, corporate cards, and financial solutions with Railsr’s proficiency in Embedded Finance, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), and Cards-as-a-Service (CaaS) infrastructure. 

The combined group aims to augment multi-geographical merchants and direct-to-consumer brands by offering them an optimal way to embed financial services into their products, enabling them to launch, scale, and operate globally.

Potential benefits for consumers

The newly combined group will provide customers with an expanded suite of services, including:

• Multi-currency accounts with optimal payment capabilities;

• Consumer and corporate-branded cards;

• Embedded Finance solutions tailored to fintech, corporates, and brands;

• Efficient FX and international payment services ;

• Dual issuing of both Visa and Mastercard card services;

• Branded digital wallets for budgeting, tracking, and rewards.

Target consumers include fintech companies, corporations, and consumer brands that need to operate financial services across multiple markets. 

Equals Money and Railsr aim to integrate operations in the coming months while ensuring uninterrupted customer service. Existing services will continue, while clients are set to be able to receive updates as more capabilities are rolled out. 

The newly merged group is backed by majority investors TowerBrook Capital Partners L.P. and J.C. Flowers & Co. Additionally, Lingotto Investment Management co-invested alongside J.C. Flowers & Co. through its Lingotto Horizon Strategy.

More about Equals Money and Railsr collaboration

The acquisition comes after Equals Group agreed to a cash offer of GBP 283 million from BitCo, a group comprising the TowerBrook Funds, J.C. Flowers Funds, and Railsr Shareholders. According to the LSE announcement, the asset was implemented via a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006.

Under the terms, Equals shareholders received 140 pence per share, comprising 135 pence in cash and a special dividend of 5 pence per share. This represented a 37% premium to Equals’ closing share price on 31 October 2023 and a 30% premium to its three-month volume-weighted average.