Visa biometrics provider VFS in talks to sell minority stake to Temasek

A significant minority stake of about 20 percent in the Blackstone-owned digital services outsourcing company VFS Global might be sold to Temasek Holdings, a state-owned investment firm from Singapore. The discussions are still in progress, and no definitive agreements have been reached.

The proposed acquisition would value VFS Global at around $7 billion, Bloomberg reports, including its debt obligations. Despite the stake sale, Blackstone remains the company’s majority stakeholder and primarily controls decision-making.

Headquartered in Zurich and Dubai, VFS Global is a visa and passport processing company that has served governments in many countries. Since 2007, the company has processed more than 294 million visa applications and 141 million biometric enrollments. Last year, VFS Global signed a contract with the Australian government to conduct biometric enrollment services.

For the acquisition, Blackstone has been weighing multiple options for its stake in VFS Global, including selling the company fully or partially or bringing in a minority investor. However, reports suggest Blackstone is using the minority sale approach to raise capital for growth.

Blackstone acquired a stake in VFS Global from EQT Private Equity in October 2021, and the transaction closed by Q1 of 2022. After this acquisition, EQT Private Equity retained a minority position in VFS Global alongside Blackstone.

India has become a key focus for expanding VFS Global’s visa processing service across major cities. To capitalize on India’s economic growth, Blackstone plans to increase its Indian private equity assets by $25 billion over the next five years. Temasek aligns with the same idea and has invested over $37 billion over the last two decades.

Both the companies declined to comment on the acquisition announcement, according to Bloomberg News and Reuters.

Article Topics

acquisitions  |  biometric passport  |  VFS Global  |  visas