The Zobel family-led Ayala Corp. is raking in at least P18.4 billion from the sale of half its stake in e-wallet GCash through a deal with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. 

According to a stock exchange filing on Friday, Mitsubishi will acquire a 50 percent ownership in AC Ventures Holdings Corp., which holds a 13 percent share in fintech unicorn Mynt.

Mynt is the parent company of GCash operator G-Xchange Inc. and microlender Fuse Lending.

“We believe Mitsubishi can add meaningful value to Mynt, which will allow Mynt to deliver significant value to its over 94 million registered users,” Ayala president and CEO Cezar Consing said on Friday.

Strategic investor enters

Ayala first announced its plan to bring in a “strategic investor” to further strengthen GCash, whose popularity surged during the pandemic lockdown, last August.

The country’s oldest conglomerate invested P22.4 billion in Mynt, increasing its stake in the Globe Group’s financial technology arm.

MUFG Bank Ltd., Japan’s largest bank, also contributed $393 million to Mynt for an 8 percent stake. 

Collectively, the fundraising efforts valued GCash, which has yet to go public, at $5 billion.

According to Mynt, its current valuation more than doubled its $2 billion valuation from the last funding round in 2021. 

As of the end of last year, Mynt recorded P6.7 billion of net income.

GCash has been ramping up its services to benefit more users. 

Recently, its lending arm, Fuse, tapped Security Bank to provide users with easier access to a range of loan products. 

According to GCash, expanding its partnerships to more banks is expected to benefit 44 percent of Filipinos who remain unbanked.

The resurgence of mobile wallets has significantly improved people’s lives by providing convenient, secure and accessible means of conducting financial transactions, reducing reliance on cash and promoting financial inclusion. 

To date, GCash has already disbursed over P155 billion in loans to more than 5.4 million Filipinos, including those in underserved sectors.