Spark Capital is pleased to announce successful closure of USD 30 million investment in CreditAccess Asia N.V. (“CreditAccess Asia” or “Company”) by Olympus Capital Asia (“Olympus Capital”). Spark Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to the transaction.
With the successful closure of the transaction, Spark Capital has leveraged on its deep understanding of the microfinance sector to advise on capital raise for a pan-Asian microfinance operator. Spark Capital has played a transformative role in this sector having worked on transactions across cycles advising clients in raising growth capital, advising investors in evaluating and investing in microfinance companies, and in pioneering consolidation in the sector.
Spark Capital played a turnkey advisory role demonstrating its ability to successfully package and pitch an investment opportunity involving a multinational business with a European domiciled holding company and operating microfinance subsidiaries in the Asian continent to international private equity investors. As exclusive financial advisor to the transaction, Spark Capital was involved in:
- Ideating & positioning the opportunity to a cross-section of investors, identifying the investor, building an investment thesis and marketing the opportunity and its uniqueness on behalf of CreditAccess Asia to a prospective set of marquee institutional investors with a pan-Asian geographic focus
- Leading transaction negotiations on behalf of CreditAccess Asia and its principals with Olympus Capital
- Managing the detailed business (across multiple economies & geographies), legal (across multiple jurisdictions) and financial diligence (across multiple accounting standards) processes on CreditAccess Asia and its operating subsidiaries carried out by several professional agencies
- Structuring the transaction reconciling the interests of multiple stakeholders
- Leading negotiations on definitive agreements and advising on suitable terms to facilitate a strategic partnership for CreditAccess Asia with Olympus Capital
With the completion of this transaction, Spark has advised on 25 transactions aggregating ~USD 1 Bn value across various sub-segments of the BFSI space. This transaction also marks Spark's 6th successful closure in microfinance
About CreditAccess Asia:
Based out of Netherlands, CreditAccess Asia is a pan-Asian operator of integrated credit institutions in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Today, its regional companies in Asia have a total portfolio of EUR 240 million with over 1.3 million clients. Over the next two years, CreditAccess Asia aims to expand its operations into an additional one to two new countries in Asia and expects to more than double its client base to over 3 million customers. CreditAccess Asia companies employ close to 5,400 people across the world. CreditAccess Asia is committed to seeking a stock listing in the longer term to enable the company to raise capital to further extend its outreach to unbanked entrepreneurs in Asia. The focus on attractive and fast-growing segment of micro-enterprises that do not have access to local banking services provides significant growth opportunities.
About Olympus Capital:
Olympus Capital Asia is an Asian middle market private equity firm with experienced investment professionals and advisors located in Hong Kong, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and New York. The firm focuses on financial services, food & agribusiness, environmental and healthcare. Since its founding in 1997, Olympus Capital Asia has successfully invested over US$2 billion on behalf of its funds and co-investors in more than 40 portfolio companies throughout Asia, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. In addition to helping middle-market companies expand in their home markets, Olympus Capital Asia leverages its regional platform to help portfolio companies drive crossborder expansion where possible.
About Spark Capital:
Spark Capital (“Spark”) is among India’s leading investment banks, providing a full suite of services encompassing Corporate Finance Advisory, Institutional Equities, Wealth Management and Structured Finance & Debt Syndication. Spark’s Corporate Finance Advisory division has successfully consummated a total transaction value of close to US$1.8 Bn across 30 transactions in the last 36 months; Spark’s Institutional Equities division covers ~200 stocks under research and enjoys empanelment with over 200 institutional clients across FIIs, DIIs and Family offices. Spark is headquartered in Chennai and has offices in Bangalore and Mumbai. Further information is available at www.sparkcapital.in