the american background PSG Equityspecialized in technological software and spun off from the North American management company Providence, strengthens its position in Spain with the acquisition of the fintech Unnax for an amount close to 40 million euros. As you may have learned elEconomista.esthe transaction, pending the approval of the Bank of Spain and the authorization of foreign investments (foreign investments), has partially released the founding partnersJulián Díaz-Santos Hernández and Jordi Pérez Rosselló, who had close to 50% of the capital and remain in charge of management, reinvesting together with private equity.
The remainder of Unnax’s shareholding was held by Segtech Ventures, Prosegur’s investment vehicle, Bankinterthe bottom Athos Capital, Swanlaab Venture Factory, the CSQ telecommunications group, Grupo Elektra, one of the largest providers of non-bank loans in the US, and the investment company Montegui Investments. PSG Equity has declined to comment on the transaction.
In this new stage, the signing of private equity will boost the growth of Unnax and its international expansion with a focus on Europe and Latin America. In 2022, the startup The company received financing from Avançsa, the entity dependent on the Generalitat de Catalunya, through a participatory loan worth 1.5 million euros.
Jump to Latin America
After an evaluation that lasted for two years, in 2020 The Bank of Spain approved the regulatory file for Unnax to operate as an electronic money institution, account information service provider (AISP) and payment initiation service provider (PISP).
Unnax is the first Spanish ‘fintech’ to have the triple license of the Bank of Spain
Created in 2016 and based in Barcelona, Unnax was born with the ambition of accelerate the digital transformation of the financial sector. The company is specialized in the development of financial services software online and computer applications for the control of bank accounts and/or transfers by companies. The company, one of the few European firms in solutions for open bankingoperates in the field of online payment services and, in addition, offers modern technologies for bank aggregation, payment initiation, identity verification and electronic money
In 2020, Unnax closed a financing round of 7 million euros led by Grupo Elektra, which acquired 9.50% of the parent company, and in which Athos Capital, Segtech Ventures, Swanlaab Venture Factory, Motegi Investments and CSQ Inversiones Financieras also participated. Specifically, Grupo Elektra. With the new resources the startup fueled its growth in Latin America.
Founded in 2014, PSG is a growth equity fund that invests in European software and technology services companies in Europe, Israel and North America. The firm, which was spun off from Providence in 2020, has an extensive portfolio in Spain where companies like the legaltech Signed, Nalanda Global, la startup human resources company Sesame HR and software firm Mapal Group. The fund has also launched the sale process for Imawebthe software company created from the purchase and subsequent integration of the Spanish company Imaweb and the French companies I’Car Systems and Datafirst.