As part of its Middle East development, Brookfield Business Partners, the private equity division of Canada's Brookfield Asset Management, has agreed to pay £2.2 billion ($2.76 billion) to purchase Network International, a payments-processing company based in the UAE.According to Brookfield, the 400 pence per share that the company is offering offers a premium of 64% over Network International's closing price of 243.6 pence on April 12, the final business day before the start of the offer period.
“The strength of Network's people and technology platform has enabled it to build on its position as a leading payment solution provider across the Middle East and Africa,” said Ron Kalifa, chairman of Network International.
“The enlarged group will be well positioned to serve its customers and partners and support the acceleration of digital payments in the markets it serves.”
A group of private equity companies led by CVC Capital and Francisco Partners earlier made a buyout offer for Network International, valuing the company at roughly £2.1 billion.The consortium's initial offer of 387 pence per share was surpassed by Brookfield's opening bid of 400 pence per share for the Dubai-based company in April.
At 12.36 p.m. UAE time, Network International's shares were up 5% and trading at 383.40 pence on the LSE. Since the start of the year, the company's stock has increased by over 25%.In 2022, Network International reported a rise in net profit of 42%, with revenue growth supported by higher consumer spending.
Revenue increased by more than 24% to $438.4 million during the year, driven mostly by the "stellar performance" of its merchant services company, which saw revenue increase by more than 41% yearly as a result of consumer spending in the UAE.