Fund owned by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala acquires 3.4% stake in Finablr

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finablr, Mubadala, MIC Capital Partners, Finablr, BR Shetty, UAE Exchange, NMC Health

Dubai - Finablr, whose shares have been suspended, on Monday expressed doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern and said its chief executive would step down.

By Reuters

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Published: Tue 17 Mar 2020, 1:16 PM

Last updated: Tue 17 Mar 2020, 3:17 PM

A fund owned by Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala has taken a 3.4 stake in London-listed payments firm Finablr, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

The stake was purchased by MIC Capital Partners, owned and managed by Mubadala Capital, a unit of Mubadala Investment Co, the state fund said.

Finablr, whose shares have been suspended, on Monday expressed doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern and said its chief executive would step down.

It said on Tuesday it has engaged an accounting firm to undertake rapid contingency planning for a potential insolvency.

"They have taken a stake, over the past several weeks, in Finablr, reaching a level of disclosure required by the regulators," the spokesman said.

Mubadala manages about $240 billion in assets.

Finablr had made a disclosure to the London Stock Exchange on Monday that MIC Capital Partners had built up a stake of 3.4 per cent, but had not disclosed that the fund was linked to Mubadala.

Finablr was founded by BR Shetty, who also established troubled UAE hospital operator NMC Health, which earlier this month asked for an informal debt standstill to stabilise its finances.

Finablr's troubles come after problems at its Travelex business, which was hit by a ransomware attack late last year. The company is also facing disruption to its business from the coronavirus crisis.

Finablr's other company, UAE exchange, has suspended all new transactions at UAE branches, it said in an email.

The firm, which has over 150 branches in the UAE, engages in money transfers, foreign exchange and payments services.

Finablr's shares were temporarily suspended on Monday, following a steep slide in the company's stock price due to uncertainty over founder BR Shetty's financial holdings.

The shares have fallen by more than 90 per cent this year.


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