London, United Kingdom, July 27th 2015: Crown Agents Limited (“Crown Agents”) today announced it has agreed terms relating to the sale of 100% of its financial services businesses, Crown Agents Bank Limited (“CAB”) and Crown Agents Investment Management Limited (“CAIM”), to funds advised by Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”).
CAB and CAIM are specialist providers of payment, cash management, trade, treasury and investment services. They are experts in working with emerging and fragile markets, and offer tailored, practical and effective solutions built on deep local knowledge and experience of complex environments. Among their clients are governments, development organisations, donors, central banks, pension and investment fund managers and corporates with international transactional needs. They provide services in Africa, the Caribbean and South East Asia.
Crown Agents CEO, David Richardson, commented, “In Helios we have found a buyer for our financial services businesses with an ethos and values similar to our own. Helios’ deep knowledge and experience of African markets and the financial services sector will further strengthen CAB and CAIM’s long standing role as the partner of choice in addressing the issue of financial exclusion in frontier markets. Helios’ vision for the future of the financial services operations and its professional ethos align with those of Crown Agents, ensuring that they will remain long-term strategic partners. We look forward to continuing our working relationship with the CAB and CAIM.”
Tope Lawani, co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners, added, “Crown Agents’ financial services team is renowned for providing specialist financial solutions in emerging markets, principally Africa and the Caribbean. Helios is delighted to be partnering with the experienced management team, and we look forward to bringing our African knowledge and financial services expertise to bear in realising the significant growth potential of these businesses. We believe these are unique assets with a hard-to-replicate platform and a strong brand. Under-served markets in Africa, the Caribbean and South East Asia will benefit from a renewed commitment by Crown Agents to be a trusted provider of financial solutions.”
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