Ayala’s AC Ventures, Mitsubishi seal P18.4-B deal for 6.5% of GCash

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala is seen —AYALA CORP.

MANILA, Philippines —Ayala Corp. has finalized an P18.4-billion agreement to sell to Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. half of the shares held by the Zobels’ venture capital firm in popular e-wallet GCash.

In a stock exchange filing on Wednesday, Ayala said it had signed an investment agreement with Mitsubishi for the latter to subscribe to 18 million common and redeemable preferred shares of AC Ventures Holding Corp.

AC Ventures holds a 13-percent stake in fintech unicorn Mynt, the owner of GCash operator G-Xchange Inc. and microlender Fuse Lending.

Ayala and Mitsubishi will each hold a 50-percent ownership in AC Ventures following the transaction.

Ayala president and CEO Cezar Consing previously said Mitsubishi’s entry could “add meaningful value to Mynt, which will allow Mynt to deliver significant value to its over 94 million registered users.”

READ: Ayala to sell 50% stake in GCash for P18 billion