Interswitch Lists N23 Billion Shares on Nigerian Stock Exchange

Interswitch Limited has listed N23 billion shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange Commission (NSE). The company is a leading tech unicorn that focuses on digitizing payments on the continent.

It planned to list on both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchange this year. It enlisted both JP Morgan Chase & Co and Standard Bank Group as financial advisers for the IPO. The valuation of the Initial Public Offering was estimated to value the company at $1.3 to $1.5 billion.

The listing comes as a shock for many who expected an IPO on both the NSE and LSE commissions. It is unclear if Interswitch will still carry on with the planned IPO on the NSE. Interswitch, however, listed callable senior unsecured bond on NSE at a fixed rate of 15 percent, with a tenor of seven years. Interswitch issued the shares through a Special Purpose Vehicle as part of the N30 billion Debt Issuance Programme of Interswitch Africa One Plc.

Commenting on the listing, the Group Managing Director and Founder of Interswitch Limited, Mitchelle Elegbe had this to say:

“We are delighted with the outcome of our capital raising efforts. Our company has evolved over the past 17 years into a technology unicorn focused on providing digital solutions to customers in Nigeria and across Africa. We, therefore, see this as the first step in a new phase of our journey, and we are determined to keep going.”

The parties to the transaction include FBNQuest Merchant Bank, ABSA Capital Markets Nigeria, FCMB Capital Markets, Quantum Zenith Capital & Investments, and Rand Merchant Bank, Nigeria. Stanbic IBTC Capital acted as lead Financial Advisor for the transaction.