Telenor inks $53M deal to sell stake in Myanmar's Wave Money

Telenor ASA agreed to sell its 51% stake in Myanmar-based mobile financial services provider Digital Money Myanmar Ltd., which operates as Wave Money, to Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Yoma MFS Holdings Pte. Ltd. for $53 million.

The agreement completes the divestment process announced in June 2020, Telenor said in a news release. The transaction is subject to the conclusion of various conditions, including regulatory approval from the Myanmar Central Bank.

Yoma MFS is to be funded by a consortium of investors led by Yoma Strategic, which remains subject to completion and final funding. After the deal closes, Yoma Strategic will become the largest and controlling shareholder of Wave Money.

Wave Money was launched in November 2016 as a joint venture between Yoma Bank and Telenor Group. In 2020, it processed a total of $8.7 billion in remittance and payments, which represented about 12% of Myanmar's GDP, according to the release.