EFG Hermes completes Finablr’s London IPO

Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes said on Wednesday it had concluded UAE-based payments and foreign exchange company Finablr’s 337 million pound ($434.4 million) initial public offering in London.

Finablr is a holding company for businesses including UAE Exchange, including UAE Exchange, Travelex Holdings, Xpress Money, Unimoni, Ditto, and Remit2India, among others.

Finablr’s shares commenced trading on Wednesday morning on the London Stock Exchange under the stock ticker FIN LN at 175 pence per share, giving it an implied market value at the opening bell of 1.23 billion pounds.

“We are very pleased not just to have concluded this transaction, but to have helped place it amid challenging global market conditions, …” Mohamed Fahmi, co-head of investment banking at EFG Hermes, said.

JPMorgan, Barclays and Goldman Sachs are the global coordinators for the deal. Besides EFG Hermes, bookrunners also included Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Numis.

Finablr, founded by India-born entrepreneur BR Shetty, has a global reach spanning over 170 countries and serves more than 23 million consumers and over 1,500 corporate and institutional partners. In 2018, it processed volumes of $114.5 billion. Its biggest markets are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Finablr is 91 percent owned by Shetty and his family, with two big Abu Dhabi investors owning the remaining 9 percent.