Adumo, a South African fintech company, has been bought by Lesaka for ZAR1.59 billion (US$85.9 million), subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
With over 23,000 active merchants, Adumo is the largest independent payments processor in South Africa, helping them with tasks including card acquisition, integrated payments, and reconciliation services. Since receiving US$15 million in investment from the IFC in 2021, it has gone on an acquisition spree, purchasing SwitchPay, WireCard, GAAP, SureSwipe, iKhokha, and other smaller payment startups.
Lesaka, a South African fintech company that uses its unique banking and payment technologies to provide superior financial services solutions to Southern African merchants and customers, has now purchased it.
The purchase price of ZAR1.59 billion (US$85.9 million) will be paid in cash and by issuing 17,279,803 shares of Lesaka common stock to Adumo’s current ultimate owners. The ultimate shareholders of Adumo are IFC, Adumo management, African Rainbow Capital, the largest stakeholder of Crossfin Holdings, and Apis Growth vehicle I, a private equity vehicle managed by Apis Partners LLP.
Card acquiring, integrated payments, and reconciliation services are Adumo’s main business activities. It provides services to about 23,000 active merchants and processes about ZAR24 billion (US$1.3 billion) in throughput annually. Over 245,000 cardholders are supported by the company’s corporate card services, which include payroll, incentives, rewards, and spending management. The major provider of POS and Software-as-a-Service solutions to the hospitality industry in Southern Africa is Adumo ISV, commonly referred to as GAAP.
Paul Kent, co-founder and CEO of Adumo, expressed excitement about collaborating with the Lesaka group and “contributing to the continued success of the Lesaka story.”
“We are thrilled to welcome the Adumo team into the Group and Adumo CEO Paul Kent onto our executive leadership team. Adumo’s customer base provides us access to more than 245,000 consumers and to payment technologies that we can incorporate into our existing operations. The pending acquisition of Adumo is another significant milestone for Lesaka as we build the top fintech platform in Southern Africa,” said Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa.
“Considering our respective strengths and technology offerings, it is a natural fit, and our combined offering will significantly enhance the customer value proposition,” stated Kent.
Lesaka’s ecosystem will now support 119,000 merchants, and 1.7 million active customers, and process more than ZAR250 billion in throughput annually following the acquisition. Over 3,300 people will work for the organization locally in five nations: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Kenya.
The acquisition, according to the company, strengthened its position as the “natural consolidator” of fintech in Southern Africa and would bolster its advantages in the merchant and consumer markets.
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