Dispute Over Sale Proceeds
The investors of the digital wallet provider Curve are involved in a heated dispute over the proceeds from the upcoming sale of £120 million to Lloyds Banking Group. A number of shareholders have informed the company’s board of directors that they are opposed to the proposed distribution of the funds, which is expected to be announced this week.
Background of the Sale
The sales price of £120 million corresponds to only about half of the total financing collected by Curve since the company was founded a decade ago. This has led to accusations between investors and the company, with the situation becoming increasingly heated in the past few weeks.
Investor Unrest
At least one investor has called for the removal of Lord Fink, the city grandee, as chairman of Curve. The bank hopes that the acquisition will give it an advantage in the race to build more intelligent online payment systems, as Apple faces growing regulatory pressure.
History of Curve
Curve was founded in 2016 by Shachar Bialick, a former Israeli soldier, and was hailed as one of the most promising fintechs in Britain. Three years later, Mr. Bialick said that in 10 years, the company would be listed on the public equity markets and hopefully have a value of about $50 billion to $60 billion.
Shareholders
The publicly disclosed shareholders of Curve include Britannia, IDC Ventures, Cercano Management – the venture arm of the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen – and Outward VC. On Wednesday, it was unclear what had prompted the shareholders’ unrest, but a source said that Mr. Bialick had recently written to them to acknowledge that the price was disappointing.
Response from Curve
Curve refused to respond to a number of inquiries seeking comment. The company’s founder had warned that the company would probably not raise any more money this year unless a sale to Lloyds was agreed. Lord Fink, who was appointed chairman in January, had praised the company’s growth and said he was proud to have been part of its journey so far.
