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(Sharecast News) - Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala is reportedly in talks buy a $100m (73m) stake in digital bank and payments group Revolut.
According to Sky News, Mubadala is in advanced discussions to acquire shares in the company - now valued at more than 33bn - from existing investors.
If completed, the transaction would add to a smaller stake in Revolut which was bought by the Abu Dhabi fund last year as part of a wider secondary transaction.
Mubadala, which declined to comment to Sky on Tuesday, was said to be keen to buy further Revolut shares when they become available, reflecting its confidence in the fintech's ability to attract a significantly higher valuation in future.
Sky said the identity of the selling shareholders was unclear, although Balderton, the technology investor which has backed Revolut since early in its existence, was said to be among those keen to monetise a chunk of their holdings.
Revolut announced a secondary share sale nearly a year ago, which saw founder and chief executive Nik Storonsky reap a windfall worth hundreds of millions of pounds by selling a small proportion of his shareholding.
Major tech investors including SoftBank, Coatue and D1 Capital Partners are also among Revolut's shareholders.
The Financial Times recently reported that Storonsky was in line for a multibillion-dollar payout if he succeeds in attaining a $150bn valuation for the company he set up a decade ago.
Revolut is in the latter stages of activating a UK banking licence awarded after fraught discussions between the company and regulators nearly a year ago.
"We are progressing through the final stages of mobilisation and continue to work constructively with the [Prudential Regulation Authority]," a spokesperson told Sky.
"Given Revolut's global scale, this is the largest and most complex mobilisation ever undertaken in the UK.
"A thorough review is an expected part of the process and getting this right is more important than rushing to meet a specific date.
"We are looking forward to launching a fully regulated UK bank for our millions of UK customers this year."