Scandal-bogged Finablr has agreed to a takeover offer from Middle East-based Prism Advance Solutions, according to a report from the Financial Times (FT).
Prism isn't well known yet, but the deal is promised to be "game changing," Finablr said, according to FT.
Prism Co-Founder Guy Rothschild said the deal is the first major commercial transaction for United Arab Emirates-Israeli interests since relations between the two countries were opened last month, although there are no specific details on Prism's ties to Israel, FT reported.
Prism is described on its website as a "unique international platform" that aims to be a part of the future of the Arabian Gulf region's leading entrepreneurs. Rothschild runs a consultancy in Switzerland, and Prism is majority owned by London Commodity Traders. The only director of LCM is Prism's CEO, Amir Nagammy.
Through the transaction, Finablr, which owns two foreign exchange companies, will be able to access more working capital and restructure its debts. In May, Finablr disclosed over $1 billion in debt that it hadn't previously known about, and sister company NMC Health ended up taking over. That came after an earlier, similar revelation in March in which the company learned of $100 million in undisclosed financing.
An outside investigation was commissioned by law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which aimed to get to the heart of what was termed "historic potential malfeasance."
Founder BR Shetty has blamed the failures on the previous management, FT reported. The company said it planned to take legal action against some owners and former employees.
Finablr staff in the UAE and India have grown troubled in recent months, worried over reduced or unpaid salaries due to shuttered UAE Exchange branches, which are the group's primary source of revenue. In a letter to CEO Bhairav Trivedi seen by FT, employees said most of the staff was "not even able to meet their daily food expenses" and had been begging to charity organizations. Finablr told press that the UAE central bank had control of operations there.
