This is one of the findings of the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report
Global fintech funding rose to $111.8 billion in 2018, up 120% from $50.8B in 2017, fueled by mega M&A and buyout deals, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report.
Deals in the second half of 2018 were topped by Blackstone’s $17 billion investment in Refinitiv, the $3.5 billion acquisition of Blackhawk Network by Silver Lake and P2 Capital Partners, the $3.4 billion buyout of VeriFone by Francisco Partners, and the $2.2 billion acquisition of iZettle by PayPal. These deals followed on the $12.86 billion acquisition of WorldPay by Vantiv in H1’18.
Fintech deal volume declined markedly in the second half of 2018, but still reached 2,196 deals for the year, up from 2,165 in 2017. The increasing geographic diversity of fintech VC funding continues to help drive deal volume, even as larger fintech hubs see more concentrated investment in larger deals.