India-born B R Shetty buys Travelex for 1 bn pounds

India born Abu-Dhabi based billionaire B R Shetty is acquiring leading foreign exchange specialist firm Travelex Holdings for one billion pounds, sources said.

B R Shetty, 72, is buying Travelex from private equity player Apax Partners, Lloyd Dorfman (Founder and Chairman of Travelex) and other shareholders.

Though the commercial terms of the proposed transaction were not disclosed, investment banking sources close to the development said that it is a one billion pound deal and in rupee terms it is around Rs 9,500 crore to Rs 10,000 crore.

Following completion of the transaction, Lloyd Dorfman will be Founder and President of Travelex and remain a shareholder. Moreover, Peter Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Travelex, together with the existing management team, will continue to lead the company.

"I am looking forward to working with Lloyd, Peter and the Travelex team.  This is a landmark transaction for Abu Dhabi," Shetty said.

Shetty had partnered with Centurion Investments, one of the leading investment firms in the UAE, for the said transaction, a company release said.

"The sale of Travelex to Shetty is an exciting new chapter for our business and represents a great opportunity for us to continue our expansion," Travelex Chief Executive Peter Jackson said.

Travelex is the world's leading independent retail foreign exchange business. It has a globally diversified geographic footprint, which includes almost 1,500 stores and over 1,300 ATMs in 27 countries.