Investors in fintech provider FNZ plan £2bn sale
The two private equity backers of New Zealand-based tech firm FNZ Group are drawing up plans to offload their stakes later this year, according to Sky News.
Sky News has learnt that FNZ Group, which was founded in 2004 in New Zealand but has its largest office in Edinburgh, is in the process of appointing investment bankers to advise on a sale of a majority stake in the company by General Atlantic (GA) and HIG Europe.
FNZ specialises in wealth/investment/asset management tech. It has a lot of business in the UK.
Some of FNZ’s customers include Aviva, Barclays and HSBC. Among its notable UK/European deals are Ageon, Old Mutual Wealth, and Kleinwort Hambros.
City sources say the firm would be valued in any deal at between £1 billion and £2 billion, with the upper end of that range described as “reasonable” by one insider.
The sale process is expected to kick off before the end of the year.
Both GA and HIG own one-third of the company, with the remainder held by FNZ’s management team, led by chief executive Adrian Durham.
Sources tell Sky News that Durham and his colleagues were not planning to sell significant chunks of their stakes and remained committed to the long-term growth of FNZ.
Earlier this month, Comdirect bank revealed it will sell its wholly-owned subsidiary Ebase (European Bank for Financial Services) to FNZ for €151 million.
