DGAP-News: niiio finance group AG: niiio takes next step as leading SaaS platform for asset and wealth management with successful acquisition of FixHub

Press release
niiio takes next step as leading SaaS platform for asset and wealth management with successful acquisition of FixHub
 

• niiio acquires 100% of FixHub retroactively as of 1 January 2022
• FixHub complements niiios SaaS platform with order routing
• Expanded product offering along the entire asset and wealth management value chain generates additional added value for customers and earnings potentials for the niiio Group
• FixHub and niiio GmbH are being merged into one company with high scalability and attractive margins
• Planned profit and loss transfer agreement with niiio finance group AG enables further added value for the entire niiio Group
• Multinational investment bank intends to explore opportunities to finance further M&A activities for niiio in the capital market

Görlitz, 23 August 2022 | niiio finance group AG (ISIN: DE000A2G8332), Software-as-a-Service platform for asset and wealth management, has today completed the full takeover of order routing provider FixHub GmbH as planned. As a consequence, niiio is taking over FixHub retroactively as of 1 January 2022 in return for payment of EUR 4 million in cash, around half of which is to be paid in 2022, with the remainder to be paid in five tranches in the subsequent years 2023 to 2027. The transaction is debt financed. In a high-growth niche market, FixHub generated approximately EUR 0.7 million in revenues in the 2021 financial year with an EBITDA margin of over 85%. With the acquisition, niiio is taking a further important step in its roll-up strategy which entails offering banks and financial service providers a holistic ecosystem as a one-stop-shop platform in which all solutions are modular and easily compatible with each other. In line with its strategy, niiio sees itself as an industry consolidator in a highly fragmented market consisting of numerous small providers of niche solutions.

Founded in 2013, FixHub operates a fully hosted and managed electronic order routing network. Through this network, buy-side and sell-side institutions are connected in order to exchange orders and trade-related information in all relevant asset classes. Clients include asset managers, banks, as well as execution and clearing brokers. Thanks to FixHub, such clients can reach hundreds of counterparties worldwide through one interface, rather than having to set up costly connections for all counterparties and asset classes individually. As the first central platform, FixHub not only serves the institutional client market in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, but has developed into a European order hub. FixHub benefits directly from the volume of orders processed via the network by way of a fee model. In 2021, the volume of trade routed by members through FixHub exceeded EUR 1 trillion.

FixHub will now be merged with niiio GmbH following the acquisition. Within the niiio Group, niiio GmbH is responsible for the very successful robo-advisory business. Like FixHub, this business is characterised by high scalability and attractive margins. As a white label application, niiios solution is deployed in areas such as the multi-award-winning Smavesto robo-advisor of savings bank Sparkasse Bremen. At the same time, the move will avoid the creation of duplicate structures and further reduce organisational complexity within the niiio Group.

Johann Horch, CEO of niiio finance group AG, comments: The successful completion of the acquisition of FixHub represents the next logical step for niiio as the leading SaaS platform in digital asset and wealth management. At the same time, following the integration of PATRONAS on our platform, this also provides further evidence of the success of our roll-up strategy. With Kreissparkasse Köln, for example, we convinced Germanys largest municipal savings bank to deploy PATRONAS and FixHub on our platform. FixHub has only a few competitors in Europe, and we are operating in an attractive niche market. At the same time, the one-stop-shop approach always provides niiio with attractive opportunities for up-selling and cross-selling. Following the merger with niiio GmbH, we will enter into a profit and loss transfer agreement with niiio finance group AG, which will enable us to utilise existing loss carryforwards to the benefit of the entire niiio Group.

As banks and financial service providers increasingly rely on cloud-based third-party software solutions due to structural changes in the industry, business with the niiio platform is growing rapidly. For 2022, the Management Board expects revenues to approximately triple to between EUR 7.5 million and EUR 7.9 million. In addition, the Management Board expects to post between break-even and a slightly positive result at the level of consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the current financial year. In order to enhance the growth profile and specifically its inorganic strategy, niiio is in discussion with a global independent investment bank to assist with a review of its long-term strategic options, including equity financing and M&A opportunities.
About niiio finance group AG:
niiio finance group AG (niiio) is creating a scalable pan-European WealthTech platform by bundling technological innovations in order to enable asset and wealth managers to digitalise their processes and optimally serve their clients. niiio is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for asset and wealth management. As a one-stop shop, the company digitalises the processes of its more than 80 European customers so that they can work efficiently, flexibly and on a legally compliant basis. As an industry pioneer, niiio is also driving the consolidation of the software market and plans to replicate existing processes in a decentralised manner via distributed ledger technology (DLT) and blockchain in the medium to long term. niiios vision is the cost-effective digital issuance, custody, management and subsequent trading of securities based on DLT and, as a consequence, decentralised settlement based on blockchain technology.

Disclaimer:
This release contains statements about the future development of the niiio Group. These forward-looking statements are based on the Management Boards current expectations, assumptions and forecasts, and the information currently available to the Management Board. They have been compiled to the best of the Management Boards knowledge. As far as such forward-looking statements are concerned, no guarantee can be given and no liability can be assumed that the future developments and results mentioned will occur as presented. Rather, future developments and results depend on various factors. They entail risks and uncertainties that lie beyond the Companys control and are based on assumptions that may not prove to be accurate. Notwithstanding any legal requirements to revise forecasts, we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements made in this release.