Exclusive: Santander’s Ebury eyes £100m Lumon takeover
Ebury is weighing a takeover of foreign exchange firm Lumon as it looks to accelerate its expansion ahead of an initial public offering, City PM can reveal.
London-based Ebury, which is majority-owned by Santander, is currently in talks with Pollen Street over a potential bid for Lumon that could value the company at north of £100m, sources said.
Bankers at Canaccord Genuity were drafted in by Pollen Street to run a sale process earlier this year but a previous buyer pulled out, City PM understands. There is no certainty the Ebury deal will materialise, the sources said.
Lumon, which was bought by Pollen Street in 2013, offers foreign exchange services to customers and businesses. A tie-up between the two companies would come amid a period of consolidation in the FX market.
Lumon itself has grown through dealmaking under Pollen Street’s ownership, most recently buying UK payments specialist Fiscal FX earlier this year and Abacus FX in 2024.
Last year, Lumon was among the suitors for stricken rival Argentex, which had been caught up in the wild currency swings triggered by Donald Trump’s so-called liberation day. It later pulled out of the deal at the eleventh hour and Argentex was bought by IFX Payments.
Ebury also acquired ArcaPay in September to create Ebury Partners Lithuania.
Sources said Ebury has been on a deals footing after raising around £550m from backers including Santander and Centerbridge in April, with aim of accelerating its expansion across products and markets.
Speaking after the fundraise, Ana Botín, executive chair of Banco Santander, said: “The additional investments will enable Ebury to scale faster and enhance its offering to SMEs globally.”
Juan Lobato, Ebury’s CEO and co-founder, said the funding round came at a time when AI and digital payments infrastructure were providing “tailwinds” to the company.
While it has long been seen as a potential initial public offering candidate in London, Ebury has shelved any immediate plans for a listing and is looking to scale up its operations, City PM understands.
Ebury, Lumon and Pollen Street declined to comment. Cannacord Genuity and Santander did not respond to requests for comment.