Abu Dhabi’s e& enterprise concludes majority stake acquisition in Beehive

Image: e& Group

e& enterprise, part of e&, has successfully completed the acquisition of 63.3 per cent of peer-to-peer digital lending platform Beehive for $23.6m, it stated on Tuesday in a regulatory filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

The company added: “Beehive will be consolidated into e&’s financials effective from August 2023.”

The lending platform, founded in 2014, leads the crowdfunding platform space in the UAE, with operations in Saudi Arabia and Oman. The company recently reached the milestone of facilitating over Dhs1.5bn worth of loans.

The development follows on from the deal announced earlier in May.

e& enterprise acquisition of beehive is part of its expansion strategy

With this acquisition, the telecom company will be able to provide a lending solution to address the $250bn SME credit gap across the GCC region, combining its strong brand positioning with a fintech platform. This move also reflects e& enterprise’s expansion strategy.

At the time of the announcement in May, Salvador Anglada, CEO of e& enterprise, commented: “The acquisition of Beehive’s digital lending platform marks the second step in e& enterprise’s journey in the fintech space after the launch of UAE Trade Connect in 2021.

“SMEs are important drivers of the economy, and there is a need more than ever to support their unique financing needs. With Beehive, we have the right technological innovation to accelerate our agenda in the UAE and beyond.”