Fallen tech darling Monitise accepts £70 million takeover from Fiserv

The former tech darling on AIM, Monitise, has drawn the curtain on a tumultuous stock market performance after agreeing to a £70 million takeover.

The mobile payments company, which was worth more than £1 billion at its peak and was a leading light of London’s budding fintech scene, has accepted a 2.9p-a-share bid from Fiserv, a $25 billion (£19.7 billion) financial services technology firm on Wall Street.

“Recognising the growth challenges we continue to face, we believe that Fiserv’s all-cash offer provides shareholders with certainty of value at a level in excess of the risk-adjusted prospects of the Monitise Group on a standalone basis,” chairman Peter Ayliffe said.

Monitise employs more than 400 staff. At its peak in early 2014, it was tipped to be one of the UK’s next big technology companies but the fairy tale unravelled as long-term backer Visa sold its stake.

Founder Alastair Lukies, an ex-rugby player, quit Monitise in 2015 failing to sell the company amid spiralling losses and trouble growing revenues.

The shares jumped 0.54p, or 23%, today to 2.84p on the news. They were 80p in 2014.