Yahoo Finance Travelex-owner Finablr considers $200m London float
Finablr, a payments company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is considering a stockmarket float in London which could raise over $200m (£153m).
Founded by Abu Dhabi-based Indian billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, Finablr is the parent company of Travelex, the foreign currency exchange business.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Finablr chief executive Promoth Manghat said no final decision had yet been made on whether to proceed with the plans, which would include the sale of existing shares as well as new stock.
However, Mr Shetty, who acts as co-chairman of the business and owns a 91pc stake, said in a statement that now was "the right time to consider the future growth of Finablr and whether the business would benefit from becoming a listed company".
"We have tremendous opportunities ahead of us and we are well placed to capture these, through the significant investments we have made in building capabilities and the strong management team we have put in place," he said.
If succesful, a float of Finablr would be the latest in a string of financial technology companies to list in London.
The company was established last year by Mr Shetty to bring his currency and money transfer firms under one roof, including UAE Exchange Centre, Xpress Money and Travelex.
Speculation over a potential float has been rife for months and initially the company had been expected to join the markets in the first half of this year.
Its announcement that Finablr is considering a market debut comes one day after strong interest for other London technology listings in recent weeks.
The float of another payments company Network International was oversubscribed amid robust demand from investors.
Shares in Network International, which is headquartered in Dubai and operates mainly in the Middle East and Africa, are expected to start trading on Wednesday.
Up until this point, the market has appeared lacklustre, with Bloomberg data showing the volume of European market debuts at the start of the year hit their lowest level since the financial crisis.
