Prism Group AG and Royal Strategic Partners have signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire Bahrain-based BFC Group Holdings (BFC) and its subsidiaries, subject to regulatory approval.
This move comes on the heels of its acquisition of UAE-based Finablr, a leading fintech and remittance platform in the Mena region and India, said a Wam news agency report
BFC and its subsidiaries, BFC Bahrain, BEC Exchange (Kuwait), BFC Payments and BFC Forex and Financial Services (India), will be acquired via their newly created WizzFinancial platform, according to a press release.
BFC Bahrain is a leading money transfer and currency exchange company in Bahrain. The acquisition creates a regional powerhouse with licences to operate in over 30 countries.
BFC Group’s Managing Director and CEO Ebrahim Ezra Nonoo will join WizzFinancial and lead its international money transfer business with activity in 170 countries. The deal creates one of the largest remittance services and currency exchange groups in the Mena region and the operator with a direct presence in all six GCC countries.
BFC Group specialises in global money transfers, foreign exchange and wholesale currency services and has a network of 120 retail branches throughout Bahrain, Kuwait, and India. BFC Bahrain was founded in 1917 and has been active in the remittance market since the 1970s with 50 strategically located branches across the Kingdom of Bahrain. The companies are respectively licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, Central Bank of Kuwait and the Reserve Bank of India, and specialise in money transfers, Retail FX, Payment Services and Wholesale Currency Services.
Prism Group AG, together with its partner Royal Strategic Partners, recently acquired the Finablr group of companies. As part of the acquisition, Finablr was rebranded as WizzFinancial. The group includes over 5,000 employees, relationships with 140 correspondent banks, as well as a presence across the Mena region, India, Africa and numerous subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia.
Prism Group AG is a Switzerland headquartered investment group with offices in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates that invests in innovative technology and financial services companies.
