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The European Commission gave unconditional approval on August 18 for Banco Santander and Centerbridge Partners to jointly control Ebury Partners Limited, the cross-border payments platform. The deal, structured under the EU Merger Regulation, stems from a £550 million funding round announced in late April, with Centerbridge serving as the lead investor.
Santander contributed £50 million to the round. The injection dilutes Santander’s ownership from roughly 66% down to 55%, while still keeping the Spanish banking giant as majority shareholder.
The deal structure and what changes
Centerbridge Partners, a New York-based private investment firm, now steps into the picture as co-controller alongside Santander. Existing backers Vitruvian Partners and 83North remain on the cap table.
The transaction is expected to close by Q1 2027. For Santander’s balance sheet, the £50 million investment adds approximately 4 basis points to its CET1 ratio.
Santander’s relationship with Ebury stretches back to 2019, when the bank first acquired a roughly 50.1% stake for £350 million. The company’s revenues have grown more than 30% annually since Santander’s initial investment in 2020.
Ebury now operates across approximately 30 regulated markets and serves more than 27,000 clients, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises that need to move money across borders.
Why this round looks different
The £550 million funding round isn’t just about growth for growth’s sake. A significant portion of the capital is earmarked for developing artificial intelligence capabilities within Ebury’s payments and foreign exchange functions. The company also plans to push into new geographies, extending its footprint beyond the 30 markets it currently covers.
Cross-border payments and the competitive landscape
The unconditional nature of the EU’s approval is also worth noting. Regulators didn’t attach behavioral or structural remedies, meaning they saw no significant competitive concerns with the arrangement.
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