Banking & Finance Brookfield offers $2.76bn for UAE payment provider By Gavin Gibbon June 9, 2023, 11:58 AM Unsplash/Blake Wisz Network International provides payment to services for more than 150,000 retailers Canada’s Brookfield makes bid for Network International Price was a 64% premium on the pre-offer share value Brookfield manages $5bn of assets in Middle East Brookfield Asset Management is set to buy digital payments provider Network International in a deal worth £2.2 billion ($2.76 billion), as part of its expansion across the Middle East and Africa. The Canadian investment firm has tabled an offer of 400 pence per share for the UAE-based company – a premium of 64 percent from Network’s closing price on April 12, the last business day before the start of the offer period. The offer was a counter to a 387 pence per share bid from private equity firms CVC Capital and Francisco Partners. Network says talks ongoing with private equity bidders Brookfield plans counterbid for Network International Digital payments giant hopes for boost from UAE-Africa trade talks Brookfield said London-listed Network International represents “a strong strategic fit with its investment focus”. The deal will be financed by a combination of equity investment, with Brookfield Business Partners expected to invest as much as $150 million, the statement added. Brookfield has been an active investor in the Middle East with over $5 billion in assets under management. A subsidiary last year acquired control of First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Magnati payments unit in a deal valued at $1.15 billion. Network directors will recommend unanimously that its shareholders vote in favour of the deal. The largest payment processing firm in the Middle East, Network reported a 42 percent rise in net profit for 2022 to more than $80 million, with revenue growth of 25 percent to $438 million. Network operates through two divisions: merchant services provides solutions that allow businesses to accept digital payments from consumers; and outsourced payment services, for which the majority of revenue is delivered through issuer processing, with a small contribution from acquirer processing. The company operates in more than 50 markets across the Middle East and Africa, focusing on the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, South Africa and Jordan.