EN#0374 – Dubai VASP, operational, regulated by VARA and SCA (CMA), strategic transaction

SALVUS has been engaged under mandate in relation to a potential strategic investment opportunity involving a financial infrastructure group operating across traditional foreign exchange, payments and digital assets. Its UAE operating platform is licensed by the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and regulated by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) now known as Capital Market Authority (CMA) for Broker-Dealer and Advisory virtual-asset services.

The mandate relates to discussions with qualified counterparties regarding the acquisition of an equity position.

Key Highlights:

• Regulated Infrastructure: The entity is licensed by VARA and regulated by the SCA (CMA) for Broker-Dealer and Advisory VASP activities. The entity has also a pending approval for VA Issuance License (Tokenisation) from VARA. The wider group’s regulatory footprint also includes US MSB and Canadian FINTRAC registrations.
• Business Model: The platform supports institutional cross-border payments, fiat and stablecoin conversions, account and settlement workflows, agency and advisory services, digital acquiring, treasury services and enterprise API integrations. Its target clients include financial institutions, payment providers, fintech companies, broker dealers, corporates, and market makers.
• Strategic Transaction Structure: The preferred structure is a primary transaction at a group level. Potential structures may include a private placement, convertible instrument or venture-debt arrangement, subject to agreement on valuation and commercial terms.
• Phased Transaction Structure: In view of the regulatory considerations applicable to changes in ownership or control of a VARA-regulated entity, the preferred approach is a phased transaction structure. This may involve an initial non-controlling interest of approximately 20%, together with a pre-agreed route for increasing the investor’s participation and, where agreed, an interim commercial or revenue-sharing arrangement.
• Operational Traction: The entity reports more than 65 active clients, over USD 1.5B in processed flow, a global team of around 25 professionals and an expanding network of more than 12 payment corridors.
• Technology Infrastructure: The proprietary platform provides API-first institutional infrastructure, including real-time webhooks, T+0 settlement functionality, support for more than 50 fiat currencies and stablecoins, enterprise-security controls and real-time transaction reporting.
• Revenue Model: The group generates or intends to generate revenue through foreign-exchange and stablecoin spreads, API platform fees, settlement and transaction fees, digital agency and advisory services, acquiring services, enterprise licensing and treasury activities.
• Growth Strategy: The group plans to build on its existing MENA and African presence through further expansion into selected Latin American and Asian markets, supported by additional regulatory licenses, local payment integrations and institutional-liquidity partnerships.

Please contact the SALVUS M&A team at info@salvusfunds.com for further information, which may be shared following qualification. Visit SALVUS’s Entity Acquisition or Sale page. The above is not investment advice nor an invitation to the public to invest.  Information is provided strictly for strategic or corporate acquisition considerations among qualified parties.

SALVUS Funds’ teams can be engaged and guide on new license authorizations for investment, payments or crypto-asset services, ongoing regulatory compliance consultancy for such licensed entities, and support in successfully acquiring ready-made regulated entities.

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