KKR and Tencent Holdings has acquired a minority stake in the FinTech innovation arm of telecommunications and digital services provider PLDT.
The deal will see the two firms pick up a total of $175m worth of newly-issued shares in Voyager Innovations.
Following the deal, PLDT will remain as the majority shareholder of the company, but Voyager has the option to issue additional shares to other investors and by doing so, PLDT’s ownership would fall bellow 50 per cent. If this was to happen, PLDT would still remain the largest shareholder.
Singapore-based Voyager Innovations is a technology developer with a goal of accelerating the digitalisation and financial inclusion in the Philippines. Its technology is used by prepaid payment wallet service provider PayMaya and digital payment processor for enterprises PayMaya Business.
Other companies utilising its technology include, mobile-based remittance network Smart Padala, digital lending solution Lendr, and rewards app freenet.
Through the new capital injection, the company will be able to further its growth and aid access to mobile payments in the Philippines.
KKR Southeast Asia Director Terence Lee said, “We are excited about Voyager Innovations and to further invest behind online payments leaders in emerging markets.
“Voyager Innovations provides critical digital and financial services to millions of Filipinos looking to join the digital economy for work and play. We look forward to leveraging our industry expertise and resources to help enhance the company’s mission of financial inclusion and accelerate its growth at a time when the digital economy is more important than ever.”
KKR made the investment through its KKR Asian Fund III and marks its first private equity deal in the Philippines.
Earlier in the year, KKR sold its stake in tech-enabled insurance claims business Sedgwick to Carlyle, in a deal worth around $6.7bn.
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