ALB Article
A private equity firm has sold a major stake in a Moroccan financial technology company to an industrial group from the same country.
Africa-focused private equity firm Mediterrania Capital Partners has sold the majority of its stake in Moroccan fintech company Cash Plus to Groupe Richbond, a Moroccan industrial group.
Headquartered in Barcelona, Mediterrania has offices in Casablanca, Abidjan, Algiers and Cairo. It purchased 49% of Cash Plus in 2014 and has now sold 40% of the company to Groupe Richbond.
The Mediterrania investment covered a period of growth for Cash Plus, which grew annual revenues by 300% and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) six times during its five years as a major shareholder.
Cash Plus provides money transfers and financial services around Morocco through points of sale and a mobile app. It was founded in 2004.
“Four years after our investment, Cash Plus has grown to become a strong company with the right basis for long-term growth,” said Mediterrania partner Hatim Ben Ahmed in a statement. He noted that the investor had “contributed to the development of a national champion in the fintech industry in Morocco”.
Deputy chief executive of Cash Plus Nabil Amar added that Mediterrania’s investment and management support had enabled it to acquire and integrate another payments company, Eurosol, in November 2015 and “improve our strategy and HR processes. We have also implemented a strong discipline of financial reporting, becoming a results-oriented company”.
That growth included the addition of extra points of sale and new products and the gain of a payments licence from the Central Bank of Morocco.
Groupe Richbond shareholder and board member Karim Tazi said the deal supported the corporation’s business strategy “and brings high synergies with our current portfolio”.
He continued: “After Mediterrania Capital’s partial ownership, Cash Plus is very well positioned to capture the increasing demand for financial services in Morocco.”
Interest in fintech projects around the world is growing in pace, especially on the African continent, where it has leapfrogged traditional banking and communications to become big business and investors are seeking out opportunities accordingly. Professional service providers, including lawyers, are increasingly learning to manage the implications of this industry’s emergence.
Morocco’s agribusiness sector has also received increasing investment in recent years, with some prominent deals during 2018 and the country is seen as a foothold for investors seeking to enter the wider African market.
