The second largest was Fiserv’s US$201.5m acquisition of Toronto’s Payfare Inc., as outlined in the KPMG report.
Dubie Cunningham, a partner in KPMG in Canada’s Banking and Capital Markets Practice, said the decline signals a return to stability rather than fading interest. She noted that last year was boosted by two major take-private deals, making it “exceptionally strong for fintech investment.”
She added that when factoring in economic shifts such as tariffs affecting global trade, first-half investment remained robust compared to historical levels.
Cunningham added that investors are becoming more selective, with plenty of capital still waiting to be deployed. “There’s still a lot of dry powder ready to be deployed by investors,” she said, noting that they are now focusing on quality companies.
She explained that mid-to-large stage private equity deals are also taking longer to mature compared to past years.