(Sharecast News) - Augmentum Fintech announced on Wednesday that its portfolio company Onfido was in exclusive discussions with potential acquirer Entrust, a US-based trusted payments, identities, and data security specialist.

The company said that if the transaction proceeded, it was expected to yield proceeds at or slightly above the current holding value, marking Augmentum's sixth portfolio investment exit.

Augmentum initially invested in Onfido, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) powered identity verification business, in 2018 with £4m, followed by an additional £3.7m in 2019.

As of 30 September last year, the fair value of the Onfido holding stood at £9.7m, constituting 3.6% of the portfolio.

Augmentum noted that any agreement to the transaction was contingent on regulatory approval and compliance with applicable laws.

At 1340 GMT, shares in Augmentum Fintech were up 1.42% at 97.22p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.