Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Tadawul Group Holding Company concluded the equity takeover transaction in Direct Financial Network Company (DirectFN Limited) on 7 May 2023, according to a bourse filing.

The group’s subsidiary Tadawul Advanced Solutions Company (Wamid) entered a sale and purchase agreement with National Two Ventures Sole Shareholder to acquire a 51% stake in DirectFN for SAR 133.95 million.

The value of the transaction is subject to post-completion adjustments in accordance with the agreement, which was first announced in November 2022. The takeover transaction will be self-funded by Saudi Tadawul Group and will be covered by a Sharia-compliant bank facility.

The completion of DirectFN’s stake acquisition comes a few weeks after Saudi Tadawul Group announced a SAR 90.80 million net profit after Zakat and tax during the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, which was 35.42% lower than SAR 140.60 million in Q1-22.

The revenues in Q1-23 also declined by 28.10% to SAR 211.30 million from SAR 293.90 million in January-March 2022.

Furthermore, the earnings per share (EPS) went down to SAR 0.76 in Q1-23 from SAR 1.17 in Q1-22.

It is worth noting that Wamid, which serves as Saudi Tadawul Group’s innovation arm, recently launched a meeting management platform under the name Liqaa.