The European Commission has given its authorization this Tuesday, under the EU Merger Regulation, for the joint control of the British financial services firm Ebury Partners Limited by Banco Santander and the American fund Centerbridge Partners.
The community executive has determined that the operation does not generate significant risks for competition in the internal market due to the "limited market position" that arises from the proposed transaction. For this reason, the file has been approved by the European regulator without imposing additional conditions.
The operation, framed within the scope of banking and payment services, represents a further step in the shareholding reorganization communicated at the end of April, when the 'fintech' specialized in international payments and currency exchange completed funding rounds of about 634 million euros, led by Centerbridge.
In that agreement, the entity chaired by Ana Botín committed to contribute around 57 million euros additional in order to maintain its status as majority shareholder of Ebury, retaining 55% of the capital.
Ebury is present in 30 regulated markets and serves more than 27,000 companies globally, enabling payments in over 140 currencies in 160 countries. Its technological platform allows clients to send and receive international payments, manage exchange rate risk, move funds between subsidiaries in real time, and integrate with their financial systems.