Following a minority investment in 2019, BNP Paribas has announced the signature of an agreement for the full acquisition of Kantox, in a bid to transform currency risk and hedging processes for its clients. Kantox’s software solution has managed to successfully re-bundle the corporate FX workflow; offering a one-stop-shop, application programming interface (API) driven, plug-and-play solution which has emerged as a unique technology within the business-to-business cross-border payments sector. Kantox’s technology provides unrivalled level of automation and sophistication to corporates in setting up hedging strategies. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the coming months.
FX hedging: managing market turmoil
As corporate clients face unprecedented market turmoil this year, managing FX risk and devising hedges has never been more critical. Traditionally this has been a very manual and lengthy process, but with Kantox’s dynamic hedging software, corporates can fully automate and streamline these FX workflows, capturing FX exposure data and automating their hedging, payment and collection processes. Not only does this improve efficiency, it also allows corporate treasurers to focus on more strategic, value-added tasks. The acquisition will enable BNP Paribas’ clients to benefit from this software, increasing the bank’s relevance to corporates at a time when they need it the most.
We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Kantox, which brings to our clients a unique and innovative platform to automate their currency risk management.
Olivier Osty, Head of BNP Paribas CIB Global Markets.
“We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Kantox, which brings to our clients a unique and innovative platform to automate their currency risk management”, commented Olivier Osty, Head of BNP Paribas CIB Global Markets. “Corporate treasurers are currently navigating turbulent markets and advanced technology can help mitigate some of the challenges, easing the burden of manual tasks and allowing them to focus on their strategic core business.”
By leveraging on its integrated business model, market knowledge and global networks with strong local presence, BNP Paribas is well positioned to accelerate and extend Kantox’s offering to a wide range of corporate clients across the globe, including large corporates, small and medium-sized enterprises and mid-cap clients. The acquisition of Kantox is supported by the Global Markets business of BNP Paribas’ CIB division and the business centres of the Commercial, Personal and Banking Services (CPBS) division, both of which will drive the growth of Kantox within the bank.
“We have been serving clients together since 2019 when our technology partnership started,” commented Philippe Gelis, CEO and Co-Founder of Kantox. “During those three years, we spent a lot of time together in the field, getting the opportunity to understand that together we were stronger and able to bring more value to clients. It is the best of both worlds, the leading software company in the currency management automation category and the leading bank in Europe.”
This acquisition illustrates BNP Paribas’ Growth Technology Sustainability 2025 plan that sets out to accelerate the development of technological innovations, to enhance customer experience and to provide best in class capabilities to its clients. It also follows announcements earlier this year of investments in fintechs Saphyre and Anthemis, signalling a wider strategy to partner with innovative technology companies and provide an industry leading service to clients.
The acquisition of Kantox presents a further illustration of our ability to establish long-term partnerships with fintechs in an ever-increasing range of areas.
Yann Gérardin, Chief Operating Officer, Head of BNP Paribas CIB.
“The acquisition of Kantox presents a further illustration of our ability to establish long-term partnerships with fintechs in an ever-increasing range of areas,” said Yann Gérardin, Chief Operating Officer, Head of BNP Paribas CIB. “Supporting our clients in their international development and providing them with the most advanced technological solutions have always been our priority and are as such key pillars of our GTS 2025 strategic plan.”