United Fintech Acquires 25% Stake in Athena Systems
January 12, 2022 - United Fintech has announced that it has obtained a 25% stake in US-founded Athena Systems for an undisclosed amount, aiming to obtain another 26% in two years and the 49% remainder in three years, in a transaction onboarding the Company, its clients and employees onto United Fintech’s digital platform.
Athena, operating with offices out of the US, Spain and Vietnam, services asset managers and hedge funds worldwide through its renowned software Athena Spark, providing the full life-cycle of software planning, development, implementation and training. According to United Fintech CEO Christian Frahm, Athena fits with his strategy of acquiring attractive and state-of-the-art Capital Markets software products ready for scaling and global roll-out on United Fintech’s platform.
Christian Frahm, United Fintech's Founder and CEO commented, “From early conversations with founders Luis Otero, Steano Guarnieri and Scott Sykowski, key staff as well as core clients, it was clear to us that Athena Systems has amazing technology, world class people and in-depth technical understanding of their customers’ needs. Making Athena part of United Fintech felt like a great match from day one and we are convinced we can scale the Company globally and together become leaders in the space within the next 3-4 years".
In November 2021, United Fintech announced the acquisition of a 25% stake of London-based FairXchange. The company has stated that its ambition over the next few years is to complete multiple strategic acquisitions of ready-to-scale fintechs with proven Capital Markets products, positive cash flow and growth potential; to build a fintech ‘one-stop-shop’ that global banks and financial institutions can benefit from - and become market leader in this niche. The ambition is to help big banks and financial institutions accelerate the implementation of innovative digital technology and with the acquisition of Athena Systems, United Fintech adds a new product offering within asset management to roll out across its platform.
Athena Systems CEO, Luis Otero, commented on the outlook for global expansion of Athena Spark and its new relationship with United Fintech, “United Fintech has the vision of creating a financial services network to serve all the biggest banks and institutional funds with a set of tools that will allow them to perform all kinds of activities without the need of any other provider and as you can imagine, this is a great opportunity for all of us. We are now part of a bigger company whose purpose is to help us scale and convert Athena into the best POMS provider in the world”.
Launched little over 1 year ago, November 2020, United Fintech now has around 130 employees spread out across Europe and the United States, and has already completed four acquisitions in just fourteen months: trading platform provider NetDania, RegTech provider TTMzero, FX Analytics firm FairXchange, and now Athena.
In the press release received by LiquidityFinder, Christian Frahm set out his vision for the financial services industry's need to 'adapt or die' to survive. “The financial services industry is waking up to a reality demanding not only that they digitize, but also help their clients digitize - to survive, that is. Just like banks, the managed money space is seeing huge disruption from free stock trading, robo advisors and new fintech startups, and this is where fintech - and in particular Athena- can make a huge difference.
"You must keep in mind that wealth creation is at a record-pace: The sophistication levels required by asset managers today are sky-high. If you’re a portfolio manager, you’re not just required to handle stocks and bonds; clients are demanding handling and understanding of multiple assets. Thus the managed money space is growing and expanding and it is ever-more business critical that the service providers adapt with the right tools. Banking and buy-side tech is starting to overlap and we are seeing very similar existential challenges and the choice is simple: Adapt or die”.
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