PE-backed OzForex considers IPO - report

According to The Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs and Macquarie have been hired to work on a public listing while US-based advisory firm FT Partners is advising OzForex on a potential trade sale. A listing could happen as early as the fourth quarter.

Should an IPO go through at the suggested size, it would be Australia's largest listing of the year so far, trumping the A$339 million raised by fertility services provider Virtus Health, which allowed a full exit for Quadrant Private Equity.

Relying entirely on the Virtus offering, PE-backed IPOs in Australasia reached their highest quarterly level in three years between April and June 2013, AVCJ Research data shows. In 2012 as a whole, three offerings raised $156 million between them.

Carlyle and Accel invested an undisclosed sum for a minority stake in OzForex in November 2010, with a view to supporting expansion in North America, Europe and Asia.

The company was founded in Sydney in 1998 with a view to tapping the growing market for international remittances. It now has more than 350,000 clients globally and executes over 500,000 money transfers per year, 85% of which are conducted online. OzForex has partnerships with Moneygram and Travelex and last year moved A$12 billion in international funds.

Pre-tax profit for the year ended March 2013 came to A$24.2 million.

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• Topics
• Exits
• Australasia
• Financials
• The Carlyle Group
• Accel Partners
• Financial Services
• IPO
• Exit
• Australia