Claire Wilson
FOREIGN currency provider HiFX has been bought by US listed rival Euronet for €174m.
Berkshire-based HiFX, which has an office in Marbella, was set up in 1998 by Shaun Taylor, Laurence Butcher and Matthew Knowles.
The company also has offices in Sydney, Auckland and Windsor.
Last year HiFX transferred more than £9m for customers in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
It reported a turnover of £9.2 billion for the year ending June 2013, and pre-tax profits grew from £5.2m to £7.7m
The currency provider employed professional services firm PwC to run a sale process in January this year, and a number of buyers from the private equity world expressed an interest in buying the comapany.
Euronet is paying for 75% of the company in cash and the rest in shares.
HiFX has around 200 staff across its offices with senior managers, who received shares as part of their salary schemes, also likely to receive a payout from the deal.
HiFx will be integrated into Ria, Euronet’s money transfer business.
Michael J Brown, chairman and chief executive officer of Euronet, said: “HiFX is a fast-growing leader in the cross-border payments sector. Their online presence, affordable rates, and deep knowledge of foreign exchange markets and account-based transfers will complement Ria, our consumer-to-consumer money transfer brand”
