Sydney-based materials technology company Xefco is launching a joint venture company to produce revolutionary face masks with the ability to kill the Covid-19 virus within minutes. Xefco developed masks coated in an ultra-thin layer of copper in a collaboration with Deakin University. Studies by the Doherty Institute found that the patent-pending technology has the ability… Read more »
ASX-listed voice data company Dubber (ASX: DUB) has acquired Brisbane tech startup Notiv in a deal worth $6.6 million. The M&A deal will see Dubber accelerate its artificial intelligence program and capabilities. Notiv was founded by tech industry veterans Chris Raethke, a BugCrowd co-founder, and Dr Iain McCowan in 2018 to improve meeting note taking.… Read more »
Australian digital broker Stake is turning its attention from Wall Street to the local bourse, launching a beta version of its trading platform for the ASX. The fintech has also launched a viral referral campaign among users, offering free ASX trades until the end of the year. People who sign on are put on the… Read more »
Competition regulator the ACCC has agreed to the proposed merger of BPAY Group Holding with eftpos Payments Australia, and NPP Australia (NPPA) in one of the most eagerly anticipated decisions for Australian fintech. ACCC Chair Rod Sims said they found that, at a high level, the services of the three companies do not compete closely.… Read more »
Raiz Invest founder and Group CEO, George Lucas appears to be locked in a power struggle with his own board and is seeking to remove three of the company’s four Non-Executive Directors, including chair Kevin Moore. The listed fintech’s board issued a statement late last week saying it had received notice from Lucas through his… Read more »
ASX-listed BNPL Afterpay helped generate an impressive $21 billion in sales in FY21, up 90% on the previous year, thanks to 16 million customers. But the company also did a stellar job growing its losses, which jumped 600%, from a $19.8m statutory loss in FY20 to $156.3 million last financial year. With a $39 billion… Read more »
Australian fintech Douugh (ASX:DOU) has continued its US expansion plans launching a Douugh Wealth, an integrated robo-advisory investment service, as part of its app Founder and CEO Andy Taylor said the launch of Douugh Wealth “a critical milestone on our journey to becoming a truly global ‘responsible’ financial super app” to help users manage their… Read more »
One of New Zealand’s largest ecommerce and daily deals websites, GrabOne, is being sold to Global Marketplace, the Australian company behind Click Frenzy, for NZ$17.5 million (A$16.8m). Melbourne-based Global Marketplace (GMP) also owns Click Central and e-commerce analytics firm Power Retail and is reportedly gearing up for an IPO in 2022. The company is majority… Read more »
Ecommerce retailer Kogan.com saw its shares fall nearly 16% after the company reported an 87% drop in net profit after tax in the 2021 financial years to just $3.5 million. Kogan shares (ASX: KGN) lost $2.07 to close at $11.06, after the company reduced margins and ramped up marketing to shift an excess of stock.… Read more »
Acumino, a recently launched Singapore venture studio focused on emerging technologies and disruptive innovation, has acquired the intellectual property assets of Melbourne-based startup Speakeasy. Speakeasy launched a social video streaming platform to deliver interactive live events to large-scale global audiences, launching in March last year just as the Covid pandemic hit. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) venture… Read more »
● Revenue of $26.6M up 38% on FY20 ● GMV of $153.1M, up 35% YoY ● Underlying pro forma EBITDA of $0.0m compared with $(4m) in FY20 ● Positive operating cash flow of $5.5m, ahead of prospectus forecast of $0.1m Casual jobs marketplace Airtasker (ASX: ART) has posted a 38% jump in revenue for… Read more »
ASX-listed Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will pay up to $116 million for Ferocia, the Melbourne fintech co-founded by Dominic Pym and Grant Thomas. Ferocia has been behind Bendigo e-banking app and internet banking platform for nine years and three years ago, Bendigo partnered with Pym and Ferocia to launch the neobank Up. The 100% acquisition… Read more »
ASX-listed consumer lender Latitude Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LFS) is planning to buy three-year old Melbourne fintech Symple Loans for $200 million. The shares and cash deal – 38.46 million Latitude shares at $2.60 per share and $100 million in cash – will see Symple become the lending platform for all Latitude personal and auto… Read more »
The A$39 billion (US$29 billion) that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s digital payments company Square is paying to acquire Australian upstart payments outfit Afterpay is the biggest takeover deal in Australian corporate history. It surpasses the A$32 billion European commercial real estate giant Unibail-Rodamco agreed to pay for Frank Lowy’s Westfield Corporation in 2017. The deal… Read more »
Jack Dorsey’s payments platform Square is buying ASX-listed Australian fintech Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) in a deal worth US$29 billion (A$39bn). Anthony Eisen and Mick Molnar, co-founders of the buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform will join Square when the deal goes through early in 2022. They will help lead Afterpay’s respective merchant and consumer… Read more »
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