SINGAPORE – Personal finance portal MoneySmart has declined an offer of US$8 million from its competitor MoneyHero Group to acquire all shares of MoneySmart Group, the same day the offer was made.
Earlier on Aug 23, MoneyHero had made the non-binding offer to acquire all shares of MoneySmart, but said the US$8 million value could be adjusted following a due diligence process. “In addition, the adjoining press release from MoneyHero makes reference to a recent private share transaction which was driven by specific circumstances and not representative of MoneySmart’s market value or future prospects,” it said.
On its offer, MoneyHero chief executive Rohith Murthy said the buyout offer for MoneySmart reflects the “strategic value” of combining both companies. These include personal finance websites SingSaver and Seedly in Singapore, its largest market, and similar platforms in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The potential acquisition comes after MoneyHero laid off 80 employees in July as part of a cost-cutting measure.