UK equity firm acquires Visa Jordan in $87m deal

Actis, the London-based private equity firm, said Tuesday it had acquired Visa Jordan Card Services Company (VJCS) in a deal valued at $87m. It is the second regional acquisition for Actis’ payments subsidiary, EMPH, which in July last year bought Egypt’s Mediterranean Smart Cards Company in a $30m deal. In a statement, Actis said the move would aid in the expansion of VJCS and capitalise on Jordan’s fledgling credit card market.“The move from cash to cards is one of the most exciting developments in emerging market consumer behaviour. We look forward to… unlocking Jordan’s significant payments market growth potential, and to leverage VJCS’s expertise in key markets within Africa,” Rick Phillips, partner at Actis, said in the statement.Card spend is comprises five percent of personal consumption expenditure in Jordan, with the average adult using a card at point-of-sale machines just twice per year, the company said.VJCS operates 80 percent of the point-of-sale terminals in Jordan and processes all of Visa’s inter-bank ATM transactions.Actis is headquartered in London but has nine offices worldwide in locations including Beijing, Delhi and Cairo. From / Arabian Business News