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SumUp secures an additional €285m in funding to weather challenges in the fintech industry

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summary The fintech company, which provides payments and related services to around 4 million small and medium-sized businesses in Europe, the Americas and Australia, is raising growth capital to navigate the current turbulent fintech market. The thumb-up itself is tilted and shaken.

The London-based startup with German roots has raised €285 million (just under $307 million). The company plans to use the funding to continue growing its business organically and launch more financial services, focusing on card readers and other POS tools, offering invoicing, loyalty, business accounts, and more. is. We also have our sights set on more regions beyond the 36 we currently operate in.

The company will also focus on inorganic growth, namely M&A. The latter is noteworthy. We are currently in a buyer’s market. Fintech startups are experiencing a significantly tighter funding environment, with funding declining 36% globally in the last quarter. According to S&P.

(M&A deals can check several strategic boxes. When SumUp acquired loyalty startup Fivestars in 2021, it gave it an edge in the U.S. and also brought new services to its platform.) (Introduced)

Sixth Street Growth is leading this latest round, with participation from previous backers Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, Fin Capital, and Liquidity Group. SumUp has currently raised approximately $1.5 billion. pitch book data.

Hermione McKee, who was appointed SumUp’s CFO earlier this year, described the round as “mostly equity” but declined to provide a more precise figure. He also declined to discuss SamUp’s specific valuation, but he did note that SumUp has raised 590 million euros (half equity and half debt) in 2022. He said it was more expensive than the dollar.

The company states that it has been “positive on an EBITDA basis since the fourth quarter of 2022” (note: this does not mean it is profitable). And, compared to the previous year, he has achieved “sales growth” of more than 30%.

But on the other hand, there are other signs that business is tough right now. According to SumUp, the company’s customer base is now around 4 million people, which is exactly the same number the company had two years ago.

And today’s funding news comes on the heels of several other volatile data points about the company. It was only a few months ago that Groupon revealed it was selling some of its shares at a valuation of $4.1 billion as part of a larger secondary transaction between existing shareholders. In other words, we were able to sell the company for less than half of its 2022 value.

Meanwhile, the $8.5 billion valuation from 2022 is a significant discount to the 20 billion euros ($21.5 billion) that SumUp was aiming to achieve, reflecting how difficult it would be to raise a large equity round. It highlighted that. (And in line with this, the last raise SumUp gave in August was $100 million credit facility. )

Payment technology companies in Europe and the United States also faced increased scrutiny and suffered weak performance.

PayPal and Square, two U.S.-listed companies that directly compete with SumUp, have seen their stock prices and market caps decline since 2022. (PayPal’s stock is now less than $60 a share, down from a peak of nearly $300 a share.) Square and parent company Block are trading at about 25% of their peak. ) Stripe’s valuation famously fell by almost half this year to $50 billion.

Closer to home, listed Adyen has also reported slowing growth and is in financial trouble. But as a measure of how volatile the current market is, and how desperate investors are for signs of good news, Adyen’s mere mention of a turnaround plan (a plan, not an outcome) suggests that the company’s ‘s stock price soared. 30% up.

So far, Klarna and Checkout haven’t been so lucky. Klarna’s valuation fell by around 85% during its last funding round. Checkout was valued at $40 billion when it raised $1 billion in January 2022, but that number has reportedly been lowered since then. 10 billion dollars Internally.

Now 11 years old and one of the largest private payments startups, SumUp relies on a track record of longevity as proof of its stability.

“For more than a decade, SumUp has consistently delivered sustained growth, boldly entering and leading entirely new product categories and markets,” said Nari Ansari, MD of Sixth Street Growth. said in a statement. “This … track record and culture of innovation, combined with SumUp’s thoughtful approach to growth and efficiency, aligns well with Sixth Street Growth’s investment strategy.”

Source: techcrunch.com

The Power of Salt and “Baking” in Addressing Environmental Challenges

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Chemists at the University of Copenhagen have made a significant breakthrough in textile recycling by developing an environmentally friendly method to recycle polyester using Harthorn salt. Polyester, which is the second most used fiber in the world, poses a threat to the environment as very little of it is currently recycled. The fabric is a combination of plastic and cotton, making it challenging for the industry to separate and recycle. However, the chemists have discovered a simple solution using a single ingredient found in households.

Polyester is found in various everyday items, such as clothing, sofas, and curtains, with an astonishing 60 million tonnes of the fabric being produced annually. Unfortunately, the production and lack of recycling have a negative impact on the climate and environment, as only 15% of polyester is recycled, while the rest ends up in landfills or incineration, contributing to carbon emissions.

Recycling polyester presents significant challenges, particularly in separating the plastic and cotton fibers without losing them. Traditional methods prioritize preserving the plastic components, resulting in the loss of cotton fibers. These methods are also expensive and complex, with the use of metal catalysts generating harmful waste.

In a revolutionary development, a team of young chemists has found a remarkably simple solution to this problem that could transform sustainability in the textile industry. The researchers have developed a traceless catalytic methodology that allows for the depolymerization of polyester into monomers in an easy and environmentally friendly approach, at a large scale.

The process requires no special equipment and only relies on heat, a non-toxic solvent, and common household materials. By cutting a polyester garment into small pieces and placing them in a container with a mild solvent and Harthorn salt (ammonium bicarbonate), the mixture is heated to 160 degrees Celsius and left for 24 hours. The result is a liquid where the plastic and cotton fibers separate into distinct layers. This simple and cost-effective process preserves the cotton fiber while breaking down the polyester.

The Harthorn salt is broken down into ammonia, CO2, and water during the process. The combination of ammonia and CO2 acts as a catalyst, selectively breaking down the polyester while keeping the cotton fibers intact. The use of ammonia in combination with CO2 is environmentally friendly and safe. Due to the mild nature of the chemical reaction, the cotton fibers remain in excellent condition.

The researchers were pleasantly surprised by the success of their simple recipe for recycling polyester. Although the method has only been tested in the laboratory, the researchers believe it is scalable and are currently exploring partnerships with companies to test the method on an industrial scale. They are determined to commercialize this technology, which has the potential to make a significant impact on textile recycling.

Source: scitechdaily.com