Exclusive-Blackstone, Warburg explore IntraFi sale at over $10 billion, sources say

New York, October 20 - Private equity giants Blackstone Inc and Warburg Pincus are reportedly in talks to sell IntraFi, a financial technology company, for more than $10 billion, according to sources familiar with the situation. The firms have enlisted Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim Securities to guide IntraFi through the sale process, which is still in its initial stages, the sources revealed, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the confidential nature of the discussions.

The final decision has not been finalized and Blackstone and Warburg could choose to retain the business.

Blackstone and IntraFi did not provide a comment, while Guggenheim, Morgan Stanley, and Warburg Pincus have not yet responded to inquiries for comment. Arlington, Virginia-based IntraFi runs what it calls the largest reciprocal deposit network in the United States, enabling banks to distribute their customers' funds across multiple institutions to provide federal deposit insurance on balances exceeding $250,000.

The network also facilitates the buying and selling of deposits, with IntraFi earning fees for these transactions. The rise of Silicon Valley Bank's failure in 2023 has made customers more cautious about where they keep their money, leading to increased competition among banks for deposits.

Founded in 2002 by three former bank regulators, IntraFi was purchased by Blackstone in 2019 from a group of backers, including Bank of New York Mellon, when the company went by Promontory Interfinancial Network. Warburg Pincus invested in the company in 2022. The $630 million in annual EBITDA, sources mentioned, underscores IntraFi's robust financial performance.

The ongoing sale process is reflective of the private equity firms' efforts to take advantage of the improving dealmaking conditions. In late 2024, Warburg Pincus agreed to sell McGill and Partners and WildFire Energy, while Blackstone this month signed a deal to sell Clarion Events to Informa for approximately 2.2 billion pounds. These previous transactions hint at the possibility of IntraFi also being on the market.