Dubai: India's Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) on Tuesday said it is entering the foreign exchange business by acquiring a 33.5 per cent stake in Wall Street Finance, part of the House of Patels.
The House of Patels owns about 65 per cent of publicly held Wall Street Finance.
In a similar deal, in 2005, House of Patels sold a 60 per cent stake in Wall Street Exchange (WSE) to Emirates Post Corporation.
"Discussions are also on with the group for USA and Canada markets. ADAG finalised the Wall Street Finance deal very fast based on the upward trend in the current exchange market. Empost was given first choice for taking up stake in Wall Street Finance," a company statement said.
House of Patels is also interested in selling off its remaining stake in the company and currently is in discussion with its majority stakeholder Empost. Wall Street Exchange Centre has operated in the UAE since 1982.
Earlier through this deal Emirates Post strengthened its presence in financial services. Wall Street Exchange Centre, UAE, is a dynamic player in the exchange and remittance business. The company also shares a correspondent relationship with over 80 countries worldwide and has over 1,000 agent locations in India promoting its services.
"We at the House of Patels are proud to have developed such a powerful brand in the money exchange business both in the UAE and India and also worldwide through our large network.
"I am sure the brand will have a new flavour in the days to come based on the wealth of experience Reliance Money has gathered over the years. We are confident that we can create another great success story as we have done in the UAE with Wall Street Exchange and Emirates Post," said Asgar Patel, chairman and founder of the House of Patels.
Wall Street Finance, set up in 1986, is an authorised dealer in Forex-II (meaning it can offer foreign remittances as well as money changing services). It is one of the principal agents of Western Union Money Transfer and operates over 3,500 locations for money transfer.
Reliance Money Express was formed after Reliance acquired Travelmate Services, part of the Kuoni Group, in November 2006. The company is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital.
Patel built his empire with Patel Roadways, the logistics arm of the company and is rated one of India's best and one of the largest transport companies with over 350 branches and 8,000 people.
House of Patels is a multi-million-dollar conglomerate with interest in diversified fields including transportation, logistics, finance, construction and real estate developments.
