Private equity firms Warburg Pincus and General Atlantic have agreed to acquire a 49% stake in payment solutions provider Network International from Abraaj Group.
Based in UAE, Network International provides card payment solutions in the Middle East and Africa. It is said to be the only third party payments processor globally to have a principal membership agreement with both Visa International and MasterCard.
Network International provides services across the entire payments ecosystem with a focus on merchant acquiring services, in which it processes transactions for merchants covering online, offline and mobile, and issuing processing services, in which it processes payment transactions for banks.
Abraaj is selling its stake after it has withdrawn plans to launch initial public offering for Network International, The National reported.
The financial terms of the deal are not disclosed.
Abraaj Group partner Mustafa Abdel-Wadood said: "The Abraaj Group understood the growth opportunity that Network International represented for the payments sector in the region in 2011.
"We are delighted to have worked with Network International and Emirates NBD in validating that thesis to create value and to have contributed to the development of a regional champion in the financial services and payments sectors over the last five years."
Emirates NBD will continue to own a 51% stake in the payments processing business.
Warburg Pincus EMEA head and managing director Joseph Schull said: "Network International benefits from a leading market position in an exciting market and region, an excellent management team, and best-in-class products and services.
"As the payments sector continues to benefit from long-term structural growth, we are delighted to partner with CEO Bhairav Trivedi, his talented management team and Emirates NBD, to help Network International extend its leadership position across the Middle East and Africa."
General Atlantic said that Network International has a potential to benefit from the increasing consumer demand for electronic payments as it make transactions simpler, affordable, and reliable for the entire value chain of banks, merchants, and consumers.
The demand for electronic payments is being driven by the growth in card usage, internet adoption, and smartphone penetration.
Image: Network International provides card payment solutions in the Middle East and Africa. Photo: courtesy of hin255 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.