Visa has acquired a $200 million stake in Interswitch—Nigeria’s digital payment firm.
The new investment values Interswitch at $1 billion and it is also a financial boost ahead of its proposed dual IPO set for 2020 at the Nigerian and London Stock Exchange.
Before the confirmation of the investment by Techcrunch, UK’s Sky News reported that Visa and Interswitch are on the verge of signing a deal that is staked at $200 million.
https://twitter.com/asemota/status/1193642696474152960
Sky News reported that Visa would be acquiring a 20% stake in Interswitch, and the investment will place Visa as a key investor in Interswitch.
See Also: Interswitch set to List on NSE and LSE, Plans to Raise $1 Billion
Founded in 2002, Interswitch offers point-of-sale terminals, online consumer payment platforms, its card, and Verve services across 23 countries. Interswitch initially planned to conduct an IPO in 2016, but couldn’t pull through due to Nigeria’s economic recession.
The failed IPO would have placed the fintech company as the first African company to achieve a billion-dollar-plus unicorn valuation status. This renewed plan to list on the LSE and NSE still stands a chance to gain the unicorn valuation status.
The new deal might also help boost Africa’s digital payment market, while also giving Interswitch the leverage to utilize Visa’s broad network is expanding.
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