The deal brokered will allow long term (and initial) investors Amerborgh to free up capital required to finance ongoing projects such as the Zaandam arts and culture centre, while NPM Capital have secured a 35% stake in Ohpen (from Amerborgh) who they have earmarked as “one of the most promising technology companies [they] have seen in the past few years”. AXECO advised both Ohpen and Amerborgh in the deal.
Ohpen are SaaS cloud native core banking platform providers, enabling the administration of retail investment and savings accounts for banks and financial institutions. They were also the first of their kind to run entirely in the cloud. They have become market leaders in the Dutch midsize banking market over the past few years, with their plans to chase large banks and the pension market. Rutger Ruigrok, managing director at NPM Capital, further detailed the motivation behind the investors’ interest:
“The technology sector is an increasingly important focus point in our investment portfolio. Already, we have had Ohpen in sight as one of the most promising technology companies that we have seen in the past few years. We are impressed with their achievements over the past ten years: a cloud native core banking engine, an impressive customer base and a wonderful foundation for further growth. We are very enthusiastic about now being part of their future.”
The financial advisors behind the deal, AXECO, are sector agnostic and model their services around “being more analytical than most other investment boutiques, but truly understanding the dynamics of how people will interact when their interests are on the line and they are hammering out a deal”. This fintech foray is set to ignite their long standing interest in the rapidly developing financial technology investment landscape.