Cavendish Advises on Landmark Transaction

LONDON, September 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Cavendish Corporate Finance, the specialist sell-side M&A firm, has advised the shareholders and management of MENA-based TPAY on the sale of its majority share capital to London-based African private equity fund Helios Investment Partners.

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The deal, which will see Helios buy a 76% stake from venture capital firm A15, is the largest M&A transaction to date in the direct carrier billing sector and highlights Cavendish's ability to complete cross-border deals outside the UK.

A15 is now the first fund in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to have created a Dragon from one of its investments. A15 returned a multiple of its fund value to investors from this transaction, a liquidity event that is very rare in the global tech investment space and a first of its kind in the MENA region.

Established in 2014, TPAY primarily operates in the MENA region, where only 14% of the population has a bank account but over 60%, and growing, have mobile phones. The region is characterised by low debit and credit card use and correspondingly low online payment conversion rates.

TPAY addresses a gap in the market for simple, instantaneous, accurate e-payments. TPAY's technology supports financial inclusion and facilitates digital payments for unbanked populations.

TPAY has grown to become the dominant direct carrier billing player in MENA. The business currently operates in 16 countries and is partnered with 33 mobile phone carriers, providing almost 100% user coverage and an 80% market share across the region. TPAY's transaction volume has grown at a CAGR of 1,081% since its launch.

Cavendish Corporate Finance has an extensive track record in TMT and Financial Services, including the recent sales of leading online payroll software firm Star Computer Ltd to Iris Software and Alston Elliott to Inflexion Private Equity.

The Cavendish team was led by Jon Edirmanasinghe, Partner at Cavendish Corporate Finance.

Jon Edirmanasinghe, Partner at Cavendish, commented: "We were delighted to advise the TPAY shareholders on this landmark deal. TPAY is already a dominant player in the MENA region and has enormous growth potential in the years to come, which will undoubtedly be supported by the experience Helios brings to the table. Congrats to A15, CEO Sahar and the management team on what they've accomplished to date and best of luck in the future."

Contact details:
Morgan Rossiter   
[email protected] 
+44(0)203-195-3240