FIMBank, the Malta-based trade finance bank, with a global network spanning across Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas, has successfully completed the sale to State Bank of India of its 38.5% stake in GTF, an Indian factoring company, which FIMBank had acquired in December 2004. The transaction marks the completion of the natural investment cycle in GTF- from start-up to maturity- and represents the first realization of a strategic asset in FIMBank’s growing portfolio of start-up factoring companies around the globe. The sale was executed for a gross consideration of US$54.1 million, representing a 3.3 times multiple over the asset’s book value.
Commenting on the transaction, Margrith Lutschg-Emmenegger, FIMBank’s President, said: “I am pleased to announce this important strategic move for the FIMBank group, which brings the full value realization of a mature asset and additional funds for FIMBank’s future growth, both for its core trade finance business and its portfolio of international factoring start-ups. This sale, combined with the US$25 million rights issue executed in December 2007, results in an almost doubled capital base for the FIMBank group. In an environment of much reduced M&A activity and global credit turmoil, the sale of GTF also evidences the liquidity of FIMBank’s investment portfolio, as well as the effectiveness of the group’s equity investment strategy”.
With total assets of US$571 million at the end of 2007 and a stock market capitalization over US$200 million, FIMBank (rated BB/Stable by Fitch) is a specialized trade finance bank –with a focus on Emerging Markets- with offices in Malta, London, New York, Sao Paulo, Moscow, Istanbul, Dubai, Cairo and Singapore. Through its subsidiary London Forfaiting Company, the FIMBank group is a leading player in global forfaiting. FIMBank is also building a portfolio of international factoring subsidiaries, in co-operation with supra-national institutions and local banks. The group’s competitive advantage lies in its strong expertise, offering highly specialized structuring of trade finance transactions and tailor-made solutions to its clients around the world.