Arabian Business

Bahrain-based GFH Financial Group (GFH) on Tuesday announced the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Marshal, a pan-MENA Fintech company.

The acquisition was made through its investment banking arm, GFH Capital.

Dubai-headquartered Marshal, established in 1981, is the largest and oldest enabler of payment technology in the Middle East.

It serves 16 countries and holds an 85 percent plus market share in the UAE and a majority share across other regional markets in which it operates.

Marshal’s clients include the region’s largest payment gateways and financial institutions including Network International, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Mashreq Bank, CrediMax and National Bank of Bahrain.

Hisham Alrayes, CEO of GFH, said: “We’re pleased to announce GFH’s acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Marshal, which is truly the leading FinTech pioneer and innovator for payment technologies in the MENA region.

"This transaction also marks GFH’s second major technology investment, an area where we are continuing to focus and strategically portfolio in. Marshal’s long standing track record, its consistently positive financial performance and strong leadership team make this a very unique and compelling proposition and we look forward to working together to enable the company to further accelerate its growth and already dominant market position through the development and delivery of next generation payment technologies.”

Anil Dhar, founder and chairman of Marshal, added: “With this important milestone, we are excited to work with GFH to take the company to the next level and maximise positive market dynamics. Our focus together will be on the unlocking of new opportunities, expansion in our existing territories and the ongoing and vigorous pursuit of even greater innovation to continue propelling us and our customers forward in terms of efficiency and the ability to more effectively capture and meet the vast market and consumer demand for state-of-the-art FinTech products and payment solutions.”

Gaurav Dhar, a technology entrepreneur and global FinTech investor will continue to serve as CEO of the company.