MANAMA: Professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal Middle East has been retained by the buyer of UAE Exchange and XPress Money to advise on restructuring the business and making it operational.
It will also assist with due diligence on future acquisitions as the consortium of Prism Group and Abu Dhabi’s Royal Strategic Partners (RSP) seeks to build on the acquisition of Finablr, which was agreed at the end of last year.
Finablr, which has a presence in 170 countries and includes the UAE Exchange, Unimoni and Xpress Money brands, collapsed in the first quarter of 2020 following allegations of malpractice against its founder, B R Shetty, and top management.
Since March last year, branches of UAE Exchange, Xpress Money and other Finablr businesses have been closed.
After signing an agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Finablr last December, the consortium has appointed independent investment bank Moelis and Co to restructure Finablr’s debt and hired US financial compliance advisor Matrix to overhaul its money-laundering policies and compliance procedures.
Prism and RSP also announced yesterday that the first phase of current state assessment and business planning relating to the acquisition has been completed with Alvarez & Marsal acting as advisors.
The consultancy will now advise the consortium on the transformation and expansion of the Finablr management team as it seeks to stabilise the business and put in place growth plans.
Efficiency
Alvarez and Marsal will also work with the consortium to implement a turnaround programme aimed at improving the operational performance and efficiency of Finablr.
Amir Nagammy, chief executive of Prism Group, said the decision to reappoint the consultant “bolsters efforts to appoint a management team that will deliver on Finablr’s potential”.
He added, “We are pleased to confirm that our initial due diligence on the acquisition of Finablr is complete and we are looking forward to winning regulatory approval for the deal so that we can stabilise the business and implement our ambitious expansion plans.”
The appointment of the consultant comes just weeks after the consortium disclosed in February that is in advanced merger discussions with BFC Group Holdings, the Bahrain-based remittance firm whose products include BFC Forex and BFC Payments.
The deal is expected to be finalised by the second quarter this year, creating a remittance services giant with more than 24 million customers and licences to operate in 30 countries.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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