Newfoundland Tech Company To Be Acquired For $2.75-Billion
ST. JOHN’S – Verafin, an industry pioneer in anti-financial crime management solutions, will be acquired by global technology company Nasdaq, Inc. for $2.75-billion (U.S.), the companies announced Thursday.
The agreement will combine Verafin’s comprehensive suite of anti-financial crime management products with Nasdaq’s global reach and established regulatory technology leadership to create a global SaaS leader in the fight against financial crime, a worldwide problem that demands innovative action.
“This investment by Nasdaq, a global leader in financial technology, is a major vote of confidence and a significant win for the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s technology and innovation sector,” said Verafin CEO Jamie King in a release. “Together with Nasdaq, we will be a clear leader in expanding the fight against illicit finance by delivering our capabilities to a global client base from our headquarters in St. John’s.”
Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador and founded in 2003, Verafin provides more than 2,000 financial institutions in North America a cloud-based platform to help detect, investigate, and report money laundering and financial fraud.
Verafin’s products are powered by intelligent analytics and leverage machine learning, robust shared data insights and powerful visualization and investigation tools to increase detection accuracy and reduce costs for clients. The company emphasizes a holistic approach to eradicating financial crime and its platform supports a consortium of several of the largest global banks as they collaborate to detect financial crimes to support law enforcement investigations.
The acquisition strengthens Nasdaq’s existing regulatory technology and anti-financial crime solutions.
“At the core of Nasdaq’s mission, we champion fairness and integrity in the markets that we build and in the broader financial ecosystem in which we operate, and combatting financial crime is central to achieving our goals,” said Adena Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nasdaq. “Verafin’s innovative fraud and AML detection platform, combined with Nasdaq’s leading trade and market surveillance solution, will empower Nasdaq to play an increasingly important role in building stronger economies around the world.”
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Verafin has been growing quickly and recorded the biggest growth capital funding round in Canadian history last year when it raised $515 million in equity and debt.
Anti-financial crime technology represents a large and growing sector with structural and regulatory tailwinds. Up to $2-trillion (U.S.) in laundered money flows through the financial system annually according to the United Nations, and criminals continue to find sophisticated methods for moving funds undetected. Automation and vendor solutions, a $13-billion market according to Oliver Wyman, have become increasingly attractive solutions for financial institutions.
Verafin’s headquarters will proudly remain in St. John’s and its executive leadership team will remain in place and continue to lead the company’s growth.
Nasdaq sees great potential in the innovation ecosystem of St. John’s and will increase investment in Verafin’s research and development. This will include an investment in a new $1-million (U.S.) R&D partnership project with The Genesis Centre, Newfoundland and Labrador’s innovation hub.
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