Bridgepoint [LON:BPT] has retained Goldman Sachs to oversee its exit from the UK-based foreign exchange specialist Moneycorp, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The London-headquartered buyout group is expected to kick off a formal process for Moneycorp later this year, the sources said. Perella Weinberg Partners has also been appointed as part of a dual sellside mandate, two of them added.

Reports that Bridgepoint was planning to launch an auction for the business early this year first emerged in July. The private equity firm acquired the company from SOF Investments for GBP 212m (USD 351m) in 2014.

Moneycorp generated around GBP 70m EBITDA last year, one of the sources said. In the event of a sale, it could fetch in the region of 12-13x that sum, another added. The company reported GBP 36.7m in EBITDA on GBP 121.2m in gross revenue for 2021, according to accounts filings.

An auction of Moneycorp is expected to attract interest from money transfer and payments companies as well as other private equity firms, the sources said. Fleetcor [NYSE:FLT], based in Atlanta, Georgia, has previously been highlighted as a possible bidder, while one of the sources said US buyout group Blackstone [NYSE:BX] could consider combining Moneycorp with UK-based peer Currencies Direct. Blackstone invested USD 140m in Currencies Direct in March 2022.

Bridgepoint's latest attempt to exit Moneycorp, which traded GBP 37bn in payments in 2021, comes at a time when the market for initial public offerings remains largely dormant. The chances of taking the company public are further complicated by a stunted appetite among investors for new forex-oriented businesses, one of the sources said.

Still, the sponsor may continue with preparatory work for a potential IPO on the sidelines, another of the sources added.

Finablr, which owned the Travelex brand before lenders took control as part of a restructuring plan, lost 97% of its market value in the first 12 months of trading after launching an IPO at a valuation of approximately GBP 1.22bn in May 2019. The UK-based firm had been seen as a potential acquirer for Moneycorp prior to running into financial difficulties, according to one of the sources.

Founded in 1979, Moneycorp provides payments products and forex services globally. It has 11,000 active corporate clients and operates its services in 190 countries.

Representatives for Bridgepoint, Perella Weinberg and Blackstone declined to comment. Moneycorp, Goldman Sachs, Currencies Direct and Fleetcor did not return requests for comment.

by Dominic Pasteiner, Ryan Gould, Claude Risner and Iñaki Miguel