MANAMA: Bahrain’s BFC Group Holdings has been acquired by the owners of UAE Exchange, creating a remittance giant with more than 24 million customers and licences to operate in 30 countries.
Having bought Finablr – the owner of UAE Exchange – and rebranded it WizzFinancial, Prism Group, and Royal Strategic Partners have signed a sales and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire BFC Group Holdings (BFC) and its subsidiaries: BFC Bahrain, BEC Exchange (Kuwait), BFC Payments and BFC Forex and Financial Services (India).
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal creates the largest remittance services and currency exchange group in the Mena region and becomes the only operator with a direct presence in all six GCC countries.
Founded in Bahrain in 1917, originally to trade in gold bullion and foreign currency, BFC Group today operates 120 branches across its home market, Kuwait, the UK, and India.
It is curently led by the founder’s grandson, Ebrahim Nonoo, who is managing director and chief executive.
As part of the SPA, Mr Nonoo will join WizzFinancial and lead its international money transfer business with activity in 170 countries.
“As the GCC plays an increasingly larger role on the global economic stage, we are excited to leverage the latest technologies to create the largest remittance services and currency exchange group in the region,” he said. “I’m confident that by harnessing our collective expertise, we will be able to serve more customers.”
WizzFinancial includes over 5,000 employees, relationships with 140 correspondent banks, as well as a presence across the Mena region, India, Africa, and subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia.
It also has long-term partnerships with companies such as Citibank, Visa, MoneyGram, XpressMoney, and UnionPay.
Additionally, the fintech and remittance platform will invest in a digital transformation plan that will make it easier and faster for customers to transact.
Finablr collapsed in the first quarter of 2020 following allegations of malpractice against its founder, B R Shetty, and top management.
Since March 2020, branches of UAE Exchange and other Finablr businesses have been closed.
Prism Group is a Switzerland headquartered investment group with offices in the UK and the UAE.
Founded by Amir Nagammy and Guy Rothschild, the group includes a team of entrepreneurs, investors, and technologists skilled in building and managing companies.
Royal Strategic Partners is an affiliate of the private institutional investment house Abu Dhabi Capital Group.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))