Ayala sells Mynt stake to Mitsubishi for P18.4B

AYALA Corp. (AC) has agreed to sell half of its stake in the parent firm of GCash to Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. (MC), which will also explore additional investment opportunities in the Philippines under a refresh of a 50-year partnership.

In a disclosure early on Friday, Ayala said that it was signing a binding term sheet with Mitsubishi — Japan's largest trading company — where the latter would invest a minimum of P18.4 billion for 50 percent of AC Ventures Holding Corp.

AC Ventures holds approximately 13 percent of Globe Fintech Innovations Inc., also known as Mynt, which is the parent firm of GCash, the dominant mobile payments service in the Philippines.

Mynt — a joint venture between Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, AC, and Ayala-led Globe Telecom Inc. — has two fintech companies: G-Xchange Inc., the mobile wallet operator of GCash, and Fuse Lending, a tech-based micro-lender.

Regulators will still have to greenlight the deal, but Ayala said «the needed corporate approvals had been completed for the acceptance by AC of a binding offer from MC to invest in AC-owned AC Ventures Holding Corp., which will serve as the joint venture entity that will explore consumer-related and digital opportunities in the Philippines.»

The conglomerate also said that it would be signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday with Mitsubishi «for comprehensive collaboration to promote further business development in the Philippines and to mark the 50th anniversary of their partnership.»

«These initiatives are aligned with AC's strategic priority to support the growth of clear business winners within its portfolio,» Ayala added in the disclosure.

In a separate statement, AC said that Mitsubishi «can help Mynt grow overseas and within its own significant Japan-based ecosystem, and in areas like cloud-based payments and new credit algorithm.»

Ayala Corp. President and CEO Cezar Consing said, «We believe Mitsubishi can add meaningful value to Mynt, which will allow Mynt to deliver significant value to its over 94 million registered users.»

«It's all about serving better the many Filipinos that depend on GCash and Fuse, and for making a wider variety of financial and other