Corporate M&A team advises Retail Finance Intelligence on majority stake sale to Diversis Capital Partners I LP

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Retail Finance Intelligence Pty Ltd (RFi Group), a global intelligence and media provider that specialises in financial services data, on its majority stake sale to Diversis Capital Partners I LP, a Los Angeles-based private equity fund focused on data and technology investment portfolios.

The deal was a strategic growth investment by Diversis to build planning and operational expertise into RFi Group's technical data-as-a-service capabilities. As part of the transaction, RFi Group co-founders Charles Green and Alan Shields will maintain a significant minority ownership in the company and continue to lead in their roles as CEO and COO, respectively. The deal, and their ongoing involvement, continues RFi Group's strong growth trajectory in the financial services data space.

Established in 2006 and operating in 48 countries across four continents, RFi Group is an industry leader for financial services data, with extensive product coverage comprised of enterprise marketing trackers, retail banking trend and sentiment tracking, and cutting-edge insight-based research on Buy Now Pay Later. Via the Global Digital Banking Council, RFi Group provides support to global banks, payment providers and FinTech firms.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team advised on all aspects of the transaction, including negotiation, drafting and review of key and ancillary transaction documents from the letter of intent stage through to closing.

The team was led by corporate M&A partner Ben Smits, with his local team comprising senior associate Adam Hunter, associate Liya Wu, associate Laura Bernhardt and lawyer Joyce Shi, and with assistance from Norton Rose Fulbright’s US team led by San Francisco partner Lior Nuchi and New York partner Michael Flamenbaum.

Charles Green, RFi Group CEO and founder, commented:

“RFi has built a fantastic data-driven insight offering over the last decade and we are really excited to welcome Diversis as our strategic partner. Diversis brings world class strategic planning and operational expertise to the group as we look to build out our technical and data-as-a-service capabilities. This partnership will enable RFi to better serve the increasingly sophisticated digital data needs of our global client base as we expand our footprint and services. Ben Smits and the team at Norton Rose Fulbright are a trusted partner of RFi Group. They have advised us on all our major transactions over the past 13 years and have always been right by our side."

Eleena Broadfoot, RFi Group CFO, commented:

“Ben Smits and the legal team at Norton Rose Fulbright provided valuable support in navigating the investment deal to completion. They enabled us to successfully execute a deal crossing various territories during a global pandemic, and were exceptionally agile and pragmatic.”

Norton Rose Fulbright partner, Ben Smits commented:

“We have been privileged to closely support RFi for many years, and are delighted to see such a talented group attract investment from a leading PE investor in this space. This mandate involved a coordinated and joint effort across multiple timezones allowing RFi to demonstrate its global proficiency. We look forward to seeing RFi continue to succeed in its next iteration with this strategic investment.”