Singapore – Regional personal finance group MoneySmart has officially rejected a recent offer from MoneyHero Group to acquire 100% of MoneySmart’s shared through a non-binding offer. It should be noted that MoneySmart released the statement a day after MoneyHero Group released its announcement stating its desire on the acquisition.
The MoneySmart board has unanimously determined that this approach is neither serious nor credible and that it will not be entertained. The manner in which the offer was made public, with no prior discussions with MoneySmart management, is highly unusual and has not engendered MoneySmart’s confidence in, or openness to, such discussions. Moreover, the proposed merger does not align with MoneySmart’s strategic objectives and would fail to deliver value to our shareholders.
In addition, the adjoining press statement from MoneyHero makes reference to a recent private share transaction which was driven by specific circumstances and not representative of MoneySmart’s market value or future prospects.
Vinod Nair, founder and CEO at MoneySmart Group, said, “Our decision was a clear and definitive no. The two businesses currently operate in a similar space but are on diverging paths in terms of strategy, financial sustainability and outlook. Our focus remains on advancing our products, services and innovation, being a trusted partner to customers and executing our growth strategy. We believe that our current plans set up MoneySmart to succeed in the long term.”
