MUFG buy-in deal jacks up Gcash valuation to $5B
MUFG Bank Ltd., Japan’s largest bank, has completed the acquisition of an 8-percent stake in Ayala-led Mynt, boosting the valuation of the popular e-wallet brand GCash operator to $5 billion.
In a disclosure on Thursday, parent Company Globe Telecom Inc. announced the conclusion of the transaction that had been initially announced in August last year.
The Japanese bank previously said it injected $393 million into the e-wallet brand that is being used by millions of Filipinos on a regular basis.
MUFG has been investing in digital startups across Asia Pacific, including online lending app Home Credit Philippines.
Apart from this, Ayala Group’s AC Ventures Holdings Inc. also acquired an additional 8 percent interest in GCash for P22.9 billion. This increased its ownership to 13 percent.
Going public soon
The deal involved subscription to 157.62 million common shares priced at P145.372 each.
Prior to the capital infusion by Ayala and MUFG, GCash reached a $2-billion valuation during a funding round in 2021. That time, Mynt achieved “double unicorn” status with a $300-million equity investment from global investment giant Warburg Pincus, New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners and Bow Wave Capital, one of the company’s existing investors.
Mynt secured fresh funding ahead of its highly anticipated initial public offering, which has yet to be finalized.
The financial technology company contributed equity earnings of P3.8 billion to Globe last year, showing 59-percent growth from 2023.
Overseas footprint
In January, GCash announced that Filipinos using the app in Japan could use it in more stores, including small businesses in the countryside.
Its partner cross-border payment solution company Alipay+ teamed up with PayPay, allowing GCash to widen its presence in Japan.
GCash users can make payments in over 3 million merchants in Japan by scanning the PayPay QR (quick response) codes at the stores.
GCash is also available as a payment platform in select merchants in several countries including Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, United States, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The e-wallet also has partnership with international payment gateway Visa, enabling its users to pay in over 100 million merchants across 200 countries and territories.
