Brookfield hires ex-Worldpay boss to lead push into payments

Brookfield has hired Sir Ron Kalifa, the former head of payments group Worldpay, to lead its push into financial infrastructure assets as the Canadian investment group expands further beyond the property empire it is best known for.

Kalifa, who led London-based Worldpay for 10 years and is a director at the Bank of England, will join Brookfield as a vice-chair and head of its financial infrastructure strategy. 

In recent years, Brookfield has invested about $5bn in businesses that provide and operate financial infrastructure, including the purchase earlier this year of payments company Network International. 

The Canadian group’s decision to push deeper into the sector comes as governments and banks face pressure to upgrade old technologies as the financial economy continues to digitalise.

“The global financial system is at an inflection point, with macroeconomic trends driving a sector transition that requires scale capital and deep operating expertise,” Kalifa said.

Kalifa is one of the payments industry’s best-known executives. During his decade leading Worldpay, the business was spun out of Royal Bank of Scotland by private equity firms before going public on the London Stock Exchange five years later.

Currently chair of Network International, Kalifa recently led a government-backed review into the UK’s financial technology sector that was tasked with finding ways to attract investment and new companies to the country after Brexit.

Brookfield, which manages $850bn in assets, is best known for investing in real estate and traditional infrastructure assets such as ports and toll roads.

However, it has been expanding into other areas, including buying credit company Oaktree Capital and raising $15bn in 2022 for a fund that will invest in the energy transition

Brookfield will target more financial infrastructure deals through its flagship private equity strategy, which raised $12bn earlier this year. As part of its push, the company intends to partner with financial institutions, central banks and governments, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Canadian group has already had discussions with some central banks about investing in and providing expertise to help upgrade archaic financial systems that some still rely on, the person added.

Alongside the acquisition of Network International, Brookfield last year invested in Magnati, the payments unit of First Abu Dhabi Bank. Under the terms of the deal, FAB retained a 40 per cent stake in the business with Brookfield’s cash being used to fund the unit’s expansion. 

Other groups have also been active in the sector over the past 12 months with US private equity firm GTCR agreeing to buy Worldpay in a deal valuing the company at $18.5bn, the Financial Times reported earlier this year.