The Koutalidis law firm, working with Davis Polk & Wardwell, has advised Viva Wallet's shareholders on the sale of a 49% stake in the company to JP Morgan. Karatzas & Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised the buyer.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.
"This milestone transaction sets the stage for JPM’s payments business to develop future international products and services across European small and midsize businesses," Karatzas & Partners informed. "It also signifies confidence in the potential of the Greek fintech industry and is expected to support the growth of Viva through payments innovation."
JP Morgan is a US-based financial services provider with operations worldwide. The company specializes in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management.
Viva Wallet is an Athens-headquartered cloud-based neobank with offices in 23 European countries. The company provides card acceptance services through its POS application, add-on Google Play devices, and payment systems in online stores.
"Viva Wallet’s mission is to change the way businesses pay and get paid in Europe with cutting edge technology, unprecedented agility, and in-depth knowledge of the European payments landscape," Viva Wallet CEO Haris Karonis commented. "This strategic investment from JP Morgan’s payments business will enable us to complete the build-out of our vision to deliver fully localized payments and transactions services to SMBs across Europe."
The Karatzas & Partners team was led by Partner Catherine Karatzas and included Partner Georgios Minoudis, Senior Counsels Nikos Askotiris and Aggeliki Tsatsi, Senior Associates Vassilis Goulielmos, Sonia Saranti, and Alexandros Anagnostopoulos, Associates Olga Vinieri, Stavroula Simitzi, Aris-Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Regina Keramida, Georgia Perivolioti, Mara Skiada, and Angela Boletsi, and Trainees Mariana Gravani, Pinelopi Anyfanti, and Katerina Stathakarou.
The Davis Polk & Wardwell team included London-based Partners Will Pearce and Jonathan Cooklin, Counsels Joseph Scrace, Nicholas Spearing, Matthew Yeowart, and William Tong, and Associates Sophie Bessisso, Freddie Schwier, Mark Chalmers, and Aaron Zacharias.
