The primary external investor in Curve, a digital wallet provider, has taken legal action to challenge the £125m sale to Lloyds Banking Group. IDC Ventures, the investor, has lodged a petition in the High Court seeking to overturn the deal, which was officially announced by Lloyds after extensive negotiations. The legal claim alleges significant failures by key directors and investors, including Curve founder and CEO Shachar Bialick, and chairman Lord Fink. IDC claims that directors and Hanaco, another major Curve shareholder, have undermined shareholder rights, concealed material information, and allowed Hanaco to gain disproportionate economic rights and voting control at the expense of other shareholders.
This move by IDC Ventures marks the latest development in an escalating dispute between the investor and Curve. There have been reports of conflicts among Curve’s investors regarding the distribution of sale proceeds. The deal involved a headline price of around £110m, with an additional earnout worth approximately £15m.
According to IDC, the legal claim outlines intentional concealment of material information, contract breaches, and directorial duties that led to a restructuring of voting rights in favor of Hanaco and aligned directors, to the detriment of other shareholders. IDC expressed disbelief that Lloyds proceeded with the transaction despite objections from significant shareholders, and believes that over £670m of shareholder value has been eroded due to these actions.
Lloyds had stated earlier that acquiring Curve would enhance the payment experience for its 28 million customers through mobile banking. IDC Ventures holds a 12% stake in Curve and has been involved in unsuccessful attempts to remove certain directors from the company. Curve’s founder, Mr. Bialick, has acknowledged the disappointing sale price and warned of potential financial difficulties if the sale to Lloyds did not go through. Curve is reported to have raised at least £250m in funding since its inception.
Curve and Lloyds have not provided comments on the matter at this time.
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