Nasdaq, Inc., has acquired St. John’s-based Verafin for $2.75 billion in cash, a move to combine Verafin’s anti-financial crime management products with Nasdaq’s regulatory technology.
The agreement included multiple commitments from Nasdaq to keep Verafin’s headquarters in St. John’s, keep its executive leadership team in place, and maintain and increase local employment levels.
“This…is a major vote of confidence and a significant win for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s technology and innovation sector.”
In addition, Nasdaq committed to working with Memorial University of Newfoundland to grow its scholarship program and fund at least six Mitacs fellowships. Nasdaq also committed to investing $1 million in a new research and development partnership project with Newfoundland and Labrador’s Genesis Centre, and increasing Verafin’s level of charitable giving.
Founded in 2003, Verafin provides a cloud-based software platform for fraud detection and management, Bank Security Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance and management, high-risk customer management, and information sharing. Over 2,000 banks and credit unions use Verafin to fight financial crime and comply with regulations. Its products use intelligent analytics and leverage machine learning, shared data insights, and visualization and investigation tools to increase detection accuracy and reduce costs for clients.
Verafin reports having grown at a compound annual revenue growth rate of approximately 30 percent over the last three years and expects to deliver in excess of $140 million USD in revenue in 2021. In 2019, the company closed $515 million CAD in equity and debt recapitalization, representing, at the time, the largest-ever venture capital deal in Canadian history.
“This investment by Nasdaq is a major vote of confidence and a significant win for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s technology and innovation sector,” said Jamie King, CEO of Verafin. “Nasdaq’s clear commitments to the province will help foster prosperity and opportunity throughout the community as we continue to grow our business.”
Nasdaq is a global technology company and SaaS provider that works in capital markets and other industries, offering data, analytics, software and services.
The United Nations estimates up to $2 trillion USD in laundered money flows through the financial system annually. Verafin’s capabilities will be made available to the 250 banks, exchanges, broker-dealers, buy-side organizations, and regulatory authorities that rely on Nasdaq’s technology to detect market manipulation and abuse.
“Verafin’s innovative fraud and AML detection platform, combined with Nasdaq’s leading trade and market surveillance solution, will empower Nasdaq to play an increasingly important role in building strong economies around the world,” said Adena Friedman, president and CEO of Nasdaq. “We are committed to supporting innovation and growth in St. John’s and Newfoundland and Labrador. We believe that Verafin will not only complement and grow our existing presence in Canada, but also represents a potential catalyst for further investment opportunities in the province and the country.”