(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Jack Ma and one of the richest clans in the Philippines both notched wins as the company running the most popular e-wallet service in the archipelago raised new funds at a $5 billion valuation.
The service, called GCash, has more than 90 million users, or about three quarters of the Philippine population. It’s operated by Mynt, a fintech based in Manila that started in 2015. Mynt’s founding partners are the Ma-backed Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., and two Filipino companies that both trace back to the Zobel de Ayala family, one of the country’s most powerful forces in business.
It’s a welcome boost for Ma, who had built internet company Alibaba into China’s most valuable corporation — before Beijing and Covid wiped out growth. Ant Group will own at least one-quarter of the entity’s shares after the raise, putting the value of its stake at a minimum of $1.2 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations. Ma owns one-tenth of Ant and has a net worth of $32.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Zobel family holds an interest in Mynt through its conglomerate, Ayala Corp., and telecoms company Global Telecom Inc. Ayala added to its stake in the funding round and now owns 13% of Mynt. The family has a $4.1 billion fortune, the index shows.
Mynt declined to comment on the exact shareholder breakdown after the round. Ant didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the size of its stake.
The Zobels trace their roots to Europeans who arrived during the colonial era. They have built Ayala from a small distillery founded in 1834 into a giant holding company with interests in property, banking, power, telecoms, health and logistics.
Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. also took part in the round by paying nearly $400 million for 8% of Mynt.
The fintech has been eyeing an initial public offering next year, considering a dual listing in the Philippines and the US.
--With assistance from Lulu Yilun Chen and Manolo Serapio Jr..
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