Fatfish Group chases operational efficiencies with fintech restructure
Fatfish says having all fintech related businesses under a single holding company will enable it to integrate its businesses and processes to build efficiency, cost savings and bring about more effective management for expansion.
Technology venture firm Fatfish Group (ASX: FFG) has announced it will restructure and consolidate fintech business investments under its flagship holding company ASEAN Fintech Group (formerly known as Fatfish Disruptive Ventures).
The restructure will allow Fatfish to integrate its multi-disciplinary fintech businesses and operational processes, bring about more efficient and effective management for expansion, and achieve cost savings in overall fintech business administration.
Under the terms, ASEAN Fintech will acquire additional stakes in Smartfunding and Fatberry from Fatfish’s Swedish-listed subsidiary Abelco Investment Group, as well as other minority shareholders via a share swap exercise.
Its shareholding in Smartfunding will increase from 40% to approximately 89.4%, while its new stake in Fatberry will be 60.9% (from 11.4%).
Fatfish is expected to dilute its direct equity in ASEAN Fintech from 100% to approximately 70.8%, with Abelco holding a 17.5% stake and the remaining 11.7% being held by minority shareholders.
Gaming vertical
The vertical integration strategy has been used by Fatfish in the past, when it built a gaming vertical business, which eventually became spin-out company iCandy Interactive (ASX: ICI).
iCandy is now the largest game developer in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.
Fatfish management said the fintech business vertical would be restructured along the same lines.
Integrated value chain
ASEAN Fintech is a multi-disciplinary group employing more than 120 staff across four key markets in southeast Asia.
It is focused on building an integrated value chain across the core verticals of payments, lending and buy now pay later services (BNPL), and insurance technology.
The group has a three-pronged strategy to growth based around the acquisition of early-stage fintech companies; integrating the talents, business and technologies of the newly-acquired companies; and cross-marketing synergies and leveraging the common front office function to drive operational efficiencies.
Fatfish said the creation of a seamless fintech ecosystem would allow ASEAN Fintech to become a “one-stop provider” catering to the financial needs of modern consumers who operate in the digital space.
In January, the group generated a gross transactional value of more than $112 million from digital sales.