Payhawk, a $1 billion corporate card startup, plans M&A shopping spree to boost its U.S. footprint

cnbc.com:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — Corporate payments startup Payhawk told CNBC it is planning mergers and acquisitions to grow its footprint in the U.S. and take on big players in the space like SAP and venture-backed firms Brex and Ramp.

The startup said it is looking to acquire a U.S. company or companies at the series A stage of their development, referring to early-stage startups that have already raised a significant round of funding.

In an interview with CNBC, Hristo Borisov, Payhawk's CEO and co-founder, said he thinks his firm has a better «product-market fit» than its rivals, which have gained multibillion-dollar valuations by handing out free corporate cards to other startups.

«We see an opportunity to have much better unit economics in this business,» Borisov told CNBC at the Money 20/20 conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands, this week. «We believe companies like Brex and Ramp still haven't found strong product market fit for what this potential market is going to be.»

Payhawk is a corporate spend management platform that issues smart cards for clients' employees to make payments and keep track of their expenses. Decathlon and Vinted are among its customers.

In the U.S., Payhawk has partnered with American Express under the credit card giant's Sync Commercial Partner Program. This allows it to issue virtual cards which earn rewards based on user spending.

Payhawk recorded huge growth in the first quarter, the company told CNBC. It revealed that revenue climbed 84% globally year-over-year, and sales jumped 127% in the U.K. — a market that now makes up 27% of overall revenue.

Payhawk's growth came off the back of a significant increase in clients. The firm said it saw a 58% increase in customers year-over-year in the