Cork fintech firm Global Shares may be bought by investment bank JP Morgan

Tim Houstoun, CEO of Global Shares, which is likely to be sold to US investment bank JP Morgan Chase. 

Cork-based fintech company Global Shares is likely to be sold to US investment bank JP Morgan Chase. 

The main beneficiaries of the deal could be the company’s main stakeholder US private equity firm Motive Partners, which reportedly paid around $25m (€22.6m) for a 40% stake in 2018.

The company employs 550 people and has offices in 16 locations around the world.

JP Morgan Chase declined to comment on the potential acquisition.

Global Shares said “it does not speculate on rumours”. 

Online business publication The Currency had reported that JP Morgan was in advanced talks to buy Global Shares for an undisclosed sum.

Spending spree

JP Morgan Chase has long been on a spending spree. It acquired or invested in over 30 companies last year.

In September 2021 alone, the bank took a 75% stake in Volkswagen's payments business and bought Frank, a college financial planning platform which is used by more than 5m students in the US.

Analysts said at the end of last year that the largest US bank was planning more acquisitions. 

"These are acquisitions that are bite-sized and span a full range from payments to big data, have applications for AI, and provide premium customer experiences," said Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo at the time.

Global Shares also said last year that it was looking to expand.  

It said that it was "firmly established" among the leading suppliers of services linked to employee shares. 

"To capitalise on this position and become the number one provider of choice for our industry, we are looking to further increase functionality across our software platform, which is IT-led, and expand our growing client pool in a global marketplace,” Global Shares HR director Stephen Tabb had told the Irish Examiner.