Sopra Steria has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire Fidor Solutions, the software subsidiary of Fidor Bank.
Fidor was one of the first breed of new digital banks, establishing a reputation in European circles as a disruptive innovator, utilising a full range of social media, crowdfunding and P2P lending techniques and digital currency services to build its business.
In the summer of 2016, eager to buy some technological savviness for its own digital transformation, the 200-year-old BPCE agreed to pay around €140 million for Fidor. Despite injecting a further EUR89 million into Fidor in 2018, the French group soon began to lose faith in its new acquisition, ultimately leading to the departure of founder and CEO Matthias Kröner and the shuttering of the bank's fledgling UK business.
The software arm has 126 employees based in Munich and Dubai and has provided operational technology for its parent company, alongside a number of third party contracts with the likes of Dutch wealth manager van Lanschot, Telefonica Germany and Algerian mobile bank Banxy.
For Sopra Steria, the acquisition would bolster its Banking Software unit, adding a new suite of digital enablement technology for the vendor's Digital Banking Engagement Platform.
The proposed acquisition could be completed in Q4 2020, says the firm, and is subject to customary closing conditions.