As part of the deal, Arcor will work with Helicap to raise $180 million in capital from accredited investors.
Helicap, a Singapore-based fintech platform that provides alternative lending services in Southeast Asia, has acquired securities firm Arcor Capital for an undisclosed sum, it said in an announcement on Wednesday.
Also based in Singapore, Arcor specializes in raising growth capital for early-stage and mid-market enterprises in Asia from institutional investors and family offices. It holds a Capital Markets Services (CMS) licence for dealing in securities from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The firm will join sister company Helicap Investments under Helicap Group. Helicap Investments is a Registered Fund Management Company under MAS. According to the company, it caters to the underserved consumer and corporate credit market in Southeast Asia by using its proprietary, data-driven analytics platform.
Alternative Lending Market
The acquisition «enhances the Group’s leading position in the alternative lending market and enables us to immediately ramp up our engagement with sophisticated investors via debt securities fundraising and credit fund management,» Helicap co-founder David Z. Wang said in the announcement.
Arcor Capital co-founders and managing partners Patrick Hong and Rahul Khemka will remain with the company, as will co-founder Simon Ong, who will stay on as senior adviser, the announcement said.
Helicap was founded in January 2018 and raised $1.5 million in a seed funding round. It then raised $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by East Ventures and Soilbuild Group.
So far, the firm has made investments eight alternative lending platforms in Asia, including in Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines. It is expected to launch its first fund in September, with a target AUM of S$200 million ($144 million), to invest in a portfolio of loans selected from alternative lending platforms operating in Asia.
