London FinTech Jaja Finance has been taken over by a consortium of private equity partners.
The company provides cards and financing services, and uses AI to authorise and make a fast credit decision on a potential customer through its app.
A consortium led by KKR and TDR Capital LLP have become the majority shareholders of Jaja with an initial investment of up to 拢120 million.
It said the deal marks the beginning of a long-term strategic partnership which will support the digital lender鈥檚 ambitious growth plans over the coming years.聽
Original investors, including IAG Silverstripe, retain significant holdings.
The firm plans a significant recruitment drive that will see a 40% uplift in its product and data science, software development, engineering and IT teams before the end of 2022.
鈥淎nnouncing the support of two leaders in the investment industry represents a considerable show of confidence in Jaja鈥檚 growth story, our plans and our people,鈥� said David Chan, CEO.聽
鈥淥ur new shareholders will bring valuable insights to the business and will help support our mission to offer best-in-class core technology, products and services, while delivering innovation that matters to customers.鈥�
Credit funds and accounts managed by KKR first invested in Jaja in 2019 in conjunction with the 拢530m acquisition of the Bank of Ireland鈥檚 credit card portfolio and have continued to invest in the business since.