DBS to sell majority stake in AXS to private equity firm Tower Capital Asia

DBS has agreed to sell a 77.8 per cent stake in electronic payment services provider AXS to Tower Capital Asia, a private equity firm based in Singapore.

On Tuesday (Jul 11), the bank said it will retain a minority stake of 9.9 per cent in AXS.

A fund managed by Tower Capital Asia, Tower Capital PE Fund I, will immediately become the largest shareholder of AXS once the acquisition from DBS is completed.

The deal is slated to close by August, and is not expected to have a material impact on DBS’ earnings or net tangible assets for the current financial year ending Dec 31.

Incorporated in 2000, AXS is a payment services solution provider that operates an Electronic Service Delivery Network (ESDN). It became a DBS subsidiary in 2006.

Over 660 AXS stations across Singapore provide access to the ESDN platform, with services ranging from payments of bills and fines to accessing government e-services.

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DBS said Tower Capital Asia has indicated there are “no immediate plans to implement any material changes” to AXS’ current operations.

Tower Capital Asia separately announced that Nets Group’s former chief executive Jeffrey Goh – who co-founded AXS – will be returning to the company following the deal’s completion. His move will be subject to regulatory clearance.

“It would truly be a homecoming for me to be able to rejoin AXS, which I helped found, and whose business I remain deeply passionate about,” said Goh.

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Tower Capital Asia said it intends to support AXS in its growth plans that include an expanded presence within the South-east Asian payments ecosystem.

The private equity firm also aims to “transform AXS into a regional cloud-based payment solutions provider” by pledging investment in technological innovation and an expansion of AXS’ services, while strengthening existing business operations.

Shares of DBS were up S$0.05 or 0.2 per cent to S$30.96 as at 9.53 am on Tuesday, after the news.