Paramount to buy 30% in P2P financing platform

PETALING JAYA: Paramount Corp Bhd has proposed to acquire a 30% stake in a peer-to- peer (P2P) financing platform at a total cash consideration of RM13.7mil, marking its foray into the fintech sector.

In a statement, the property developer, which has interest in the education business, said its wholly owned subsidiary Magna Intelligent Sdn Bhd (MISB) has signed a condi- tional share subscription agreement with P2P Venture Sdn Bhd and Omegaxis Sdn Bhd for a 30% equity interest in Omegaxis.

Omegaxis is a special-purpose vehicle set up to facilitate Paramount’s proposed invest- ment in P2P financing platforms in collabora- tion with P2P Venture with a 30:70 ownership structure.
“Paramount’s proposed investment is in line with its five-year (2020-2024) strategic plan to identify new sources of earnings, particularly those in the digital space, after the divestment of its education business,” the group said.

‘Venturing into digital space is to future proof the Paramount group for long-term sustainability,” it added.

In this respect, Paramount, through MISB, has also invested in Openlearning Ltd, an Australian edutech that operates an online education platform for tertiary education institutions and is now listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The proposed investment will also serve as a strategic alliance to pave the way for other business opportunities in the digital space, including applying to Bank Negara for a digital banking licence that Paramount is exploring,” it said.
Upon completion of the transaction, Omegaxis will have a 63.5% equity interest in Peoplender Sdn Bhd, whose subsidiary Fundaztic SG Pte Ltd has received approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to operate a P2P financing platform in Singapore but has yet to launch its operations.

“The proposed investment is a related-par- ty transaction, in which the executive direc- tors of Paramount have interest but have abstained from all deliberation and voting on the matter at the board meetings of Paramount and MISB,” it said.

Paramount said the proposed investment was expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2021, upon receiving the relevant approvals.

As published: The Star