The International Finance Corporation and the IFC Emerging Asia Fund have agreed to buy $40m worth of shares in KKR-backed Voyager Innovations.
The company is majority owned by Philippine telecommunications provider PLDT, which will see its stake in the business reduced to 50 per cent following the deal. The telecoms major will remain the largest shareholder in Voyager.
Earlier this year global private equity house KKR, Chinese tech major Tencent and other investors acquired $175m of shares in Voyager.
The company provides customer-centric emerging market platforms for digital payments, digital finance, and marketing technologies. The deal gives the investors a significant minority stake in business, which is said to be Philippines’ leading digital technology company.
Voyager’s portfolio includes platforms such as PayMaya, PayMaya Business, Smart Padala, Lendr and freenet.
Company president and CEO Orlando Vea said “Our mission is to accelerate digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines, so all Filipinos can participate in the digital economy.
“IFC and IFC Emerging Asia Fund’s investment will enable us to scale up our efforts especially in the digital financial services space.”
Earlier this year IFC provided a $5m commitment to Southeast Asia-focused Jungle Ventures’ $150m-targeting third fund.
Buyout major KKR reportedly raised around $209m from the sale of its stake in Masan Group Corp last month.
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