Private equity firm CVC Capital has made another acquisition in the online space.
Several months after partnering with Blackstone in the $4 billion buyout of online payments specialist Paysafe, CVC has acquired retail FX broker OANDA.
The price and other terms of this deal, however, were not announced.
The press release follows:
CVC Capital Partners Asia Fund IV agrees to acquire leading global platform, OANDA
The shareholders of OANDA Global Corporation (OANDA) have announced that they have accepted an offer from a wholly-owned subsidiary of CVC Capital Partners (CVC) Asia Fund IV to acquire all of the outstanding equity of OANDA. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Founded in 1995, OANDA® is a global online retail trading platform, currency data and analytics company. OANDA’s award-winning technology and institutional-grade execution across a wide range of asset classes, enables clients to trade currencies, equity indices, commodities, treasuries and precious metals.
Under the new ownership of CVC Asia Fund IV, OANDA will continue to be led by Chief Executive Officer, Vatsa Narasimha, who was pivotal in the investment from CVC Asia Fund IV and instrumental in growing the business at a CAGR of over 25% since 2015.
Siddharth Patel, Senior Managing Director at CVC, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to invest in a leading global player with a consistent track record of growth and a highly cash-generative business, in a sector known well to CVC. We look forward to working closely with Vatsa and his team as we help support OANDA, especially in Asia, in making strategic acquisitions and in investing to further broaden its product set.”
Mr. Narasimha commented: “I am excited by the change in ownership and the next phase of OANDA’s development. OANDA is a consumer-focused business and the management team has an ambitious strategic and product plan to drive value over the next five years, focusing on both organic and inorganic growth. This strategy is wholly supported by our new owners.”
Kittu Kolluri, Chairman of OANDA, also commented on the transaction: “Over the years, OANDA has built an exceptional platform with proven scalability to meet all the demands of the company’s growing global client base. Under Vatsa’s leadership there has been a significant change in strategic focus and a number of operational improvements that have delivered strong results laying the foundations for further growth. OANDA is well positioned for its next step forward and will continue to transform the business of foreign exchange and beyond.”
Moelis & Company UK LLP acted as the financial adviser to OANDA and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP acted as legal advisers. FT Partners acted as exclusive financial adviser to CVC and White & Case LLP and McCarthy Tetrault LLP acted as legal advisers.
About OANDA
OANDA was founded in 1995 by Dr. Michael Stumm, a professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, and Dr. Richard Olsen. The first product introduced in 1996 featured a website providing free currency conversion tools and historical currency data to the public. Since then the company has grown to be the definitive source of FX rates trusted by leading global corporations such as Google, Samsung and Tesla as well as audit firms, tax authorities and industry associations such as IATA. Additionally, the business has significantly increased its presence in the lucrative analytics segment with a range of products that will enable companies to plan and manage their currency exposure.
In 2001 the company launched its online foreign exchange trading platform, ‘fx trade’, enabling both professional and retail clients to trade FX. Pioneering cutting edge technology and new products has been pivotal to growing the trading business where clients can trade from a broad range of asset classes including currencies, commodities, indices, metals and treasuries.
OANDA has grown globally with established operations in London, New Delhi, New York, Tokyo, Toronto, San Francisco, Singapore and Sydney.
About CVC Capital Partners
CVC Capital Partners (“CVC”) is a leading private equity and investment advisory firm. Founded in 1981, CVC today has a network of 23 offices and approximately 450 employees throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. To date, CVC has secured commitments of over $110 billion from some of the world’s leading institutional investors across its private equity and credit strategies. In total, CVC currently manages c.$70 billion of assets. Today, funds managed or advised by CVC are invested in 61 companies worldwide, employing c.270,000 people in numerous countries. Together, these companies have combined annual sales of over $60 billion.