The fintech arm of Italy's Gruppo Banca Sella has agreed a £24 million cash deal to buy mobile financial services outfit Vipera.
LSE-listed Vipera first revealed that it had been in talks with Sella Open Fintech Platform (SOFP) last month. Now, the firm's board has now recommended the offer of 7.5 pence per share, a 20% premium.
Founded in 2005, Vipera has offices in London, Milan and Zurich, selling mobile banking, card management and customer engagement technology to financial institutions, including Mashreq.
SOFP was recently set up by Sella to act as a holding company for its fintech business, taking on the family-owned bank's POS, ecommerce and credit card acceptance business. As well as Vipera, the unit has agreed to buy supply chain finance outfit Kubique.
Luciano Martucci, chairman, Vipera says: "Gruppo Banca Sella has been a valued customer of Vipera for some time and a shareholder since July 2017. I am pleased that our increasingly close relationship has led to our shareholders being offered a fair price and to Vipera's businesses being able to develop as part of the SOFP Group."