Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments, which has tycoon Oei Hong Leong as a controlling shareholder, has entered a deal to acquire personal finance marketplace MoneySmart for $161.7 million in an all-share deal.
MoneySmart is a Southeast Asia-based personal finance marketplace, offering consumer information on banking, insurance and investment products.
The Singapore-listed company has signed a non-binding heads of agreement to acquire MoneySmart from Catapult Ventures in a venture-capital exit, according to a filing to SGX Friday.
Reverse Takeover
The new shares issued as consideration will represent 80 percent of Asia-Pacific Strategic’s enlarged share capital, the filing said.
If the deal is completed, it will result in a reverse takeover of Asia-Pacific Strategic Investments, and it will be subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), the filing said.
The major shareholders of MoneySmart holding more than 5 percent stakes include Catapult Ventures CEO and Founder Vinod Nair, Kakaku.com, SPH Ventures and Golden Gate Ventures, the filing said.
Venture Capital Exit
SPH Ventures is a S$100 million venture capital fund set up by SPH, according to Crunchbase data. Kakaku.com is a Japanese comparison shopping website which operates price.com and other services. Golden Gate Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on Southeast Asia; it has launched four funds since 2011 and manages around US$250 million, according to its website.
MoneySmart has raised total funding of $12.5 million from seven investors, according to Crunchbase data.
Asia-Pacific Strategic is 35.76 percent owned by tycoon Oei Hong Leong, as of 20 September 2021, according to SGX data. He is No.21 on Forbes’ Singapore’s 50 richest list for 2021.
As part of the heads of agreement, Asia-Pacific Strategic will proceed with due diligence and negotiate the final terms, the filing said.
This item was originally published on Shenton Wire.
