Mediterrania Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North Africa and Sub-Saharan countries announces the sale of its remaining stake in Cash Plus — the largest independent money transfer company in Morocco — to a group of Moroccan family offices.
Founded in 2004, Cash Plus is Morocco’s leading independent money transfer and low-income financial services provider, offering access to a comprehensive portfolio of inclusive financial products including currency exchange services, online payments of purchases and taxes and other banking services for low-income customers.
In July 2014, Mediterrania Capital Partners entered Cash Plus’s equity by acquiring a 49% stake. The investment was aimed at supporting the company’s aggressive expansion plans and launching new products and services, significantly widening its portfolio and customer reach.
This move, which will result in the final exit of the investment manager from the capital of Cash Plus, comes two years after Mediterrania first sold 40% of its stake in the company. These shares were sold to the Moroccan industrial and real estate group Richbond.
This time, the 9% shares were transferred to a Moroccan family office group. The financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed.
Under Mediterrania Capital’s partial ownership, Cash Plus’s annual revenues quadrupled and EBITDA jumped six-fold, while the company expanded its presence by increasing the number of points of sale from 360 to nearly 2,000.
Mediterrania also helped Cash Plus obtain a Payment Licence from the Moroccan Central Bank, allowing the company to offer its customers low-income banking services, and helped the company develop its ERP system and launch several web-based and mobile applications (“Cash Plus Mobile Wallet”) enabling customers to open a free mobile account and benefit from its online services such as carrying out transactions, receiving transfers, paying bills, locating Cash Plus agencies and refilling their phone credit.
