- South African fintech group Lesaka Technologies is acquiring online payment platform Adumo RF for $86.4 million (R1.6 billion) in cash and equity.
- The cash portion of the transaction is $12.5 million (R232 million), with the remainder consisting of new shares in Lesaka common stock. The funds come from both internal and external sources.
- Before this latest acquisition, in February 2024, Lesaka acquired 100% of Touchsides, a data analytics and merchant services company, from Heineken, a beverage manufacturer.
Lesaka Technologies, headquartered in Johannesburg, is a South African fintech company listed on the NASDAQ and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company intends to address financial inclusion by making financial services available to underserved communities and merchants.
According to the new acquisition deal, "Lesaka's ecosystem will serve 1.7 million active consumers, 119,000 merchants, and process over R250 billion in throughput (R40 billion card, R100 billion value-added services, and R110 billion cash) per year."
In addition, the Lesaka group will have more than 3,300 employees in five countries, including South Africa, Namibia, and Botswana.
Meanwhile, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals and the completion of the transaction, which is expected to close in the third quarter, Adumo's CEO, Paul Kent, will be integrated into Lesaka's executive leadership team.
Adumo, which has been in the market since 2019, helps up to 70,000 clients acquire cards, integrate payments, and provide reconciliation services. It processes about R80 billion ($4.3 billion) in transactions yearly and has reached 245,000 cardholders.
Following the announcement of the acquisition, one of Adumo's shareholders, Apis Growth Fund I, a private equity fund managed by UK-based Apis Partners, stated that it is fully exiting its position in the company.
“We believe the transition into Lesaka’s ecosystem is a perfect fit for Adumo’s next phase, and we look forward to being a part of it as Lesaka shareholders," said Matteo Stefanel, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Apis Partners.
Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa, commented on the acquisition, stating that Adumo's customer base would provide Lesaka with access to over 245,000 consumers and payment technologies for its current operations.
