KUALA LUMPUR (June 4):  Malaysia-based private equity (PE) firm Navis Capital Partners has announced the sale of dzcard Group, a fully-integrated secure payment and smart card solution provider. 

Navis said in a statement that it is selling dzcard to TOPPAN Security — a unit of Tokyo-listed TOPPAN Holdings Inc — which is involved in mission-critical identity and payment technologies. 

The deal is expected to be completed by August 2025, Navis said. The transaction value was not disclosed in the statement. dzcard has been a unit of Navis for more than seven years, since its acquisition in 2018.

The transaction is the latest by the PE firm following the disposal of its entire stake in Vietnamese seafood products company Godaco Seafood Joint Stock Company in a management buyout announced last week.

Headquartered in Bangkok, dzcard has operations across six countries, supplying and servicing over 100 million financial cards annually to over 115 banks and financial technology companies, as well as over 60 million non-financial cards annually. 

From a small Danish printing house for cheque books and bank passbooks in 1971, dzcard has developed to a regional champion in highly secure complex financial and non-financial card production, personalisation and fulfillment, said Navis managing director Nicholas Bloy.

“This has been achieved both organically, and through the implementation of a cross-border ‘buy and build’ strategy,” said Bloy.

The company, Navis said, has expanded its operations and moved into new segments including digital solutions for payment technologies, and into new markets in both Southeast Asia and Africa.

“With its fully certified card manufacturing and personalisation facilities in Thailand and Tanzania, as well as service hubs in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Morocco, dzcard is a trusted partner to major banks, financial institutions and telecommunication companies across emerging markets in Southeast Asia, India and Africa,” it noted.

Navis said it has been advised by Rothschild, Baker & McKenzi and PwC on the deal.

Founded in 1998, Navis manages approximately US$5 billion (RM21.21 billion) in private equity and private credit capital and focuses on investments primarily in Southeast Asia and its adjacent economies.

Navis mainly invests in and around Southeast Asia. In Malaysia, Navis Capital’s current investments include durian exporter Hernan Corporation Sdn Bhd and hospital operator Aurelius Healthcare.