FUNDING | South African Fintech, Lesaka, Acquires the Country’s Leading Independent Payments Processor, Adumo, in $85.9 Million Deal

South African fintech firm, Lesaka, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and NASDAQ, has acquired Adumo for ZAR1.59 billion ($85.9 million), pending approval from shareholders and regulators.

Adumo, South Africa’s leading independent payments processor, supports around 23,000 active merchants with services like card acquiring, integrated payments, and reconciliation. Since securing $15 million in funding from the IFC in 2021, Adumo has been actively acquiring companies, including SwitchPay, WireCard, GAAP, SureSwipe, iKhokha, and several smaller payment firms.

It has now been acquired by Lesaka, a South African fintech company that leverages its proprietary banking and payment technologies to provide enhanced financial services to merchants and consumers across Southern Africa.

The acquisition price is ZAR1.59 billion ($85.9 million), to be settled by issuing 17,279,803 shares of Lesaka common stock to Adumo’s current ultimate shareholders, along with ZAR 232 million ($12.5 million) in cash.

Adumo’s ultimate shareholders include:

• Apis Growth Fund I, managed by Apis Partners LLP
• African Rainbow Capital, the largest shareholder of Crossfin Holdings
• IFC and
• Adumo management

Adumo’s main operations include:

• Card acquiring
• Integrated payments, and
• Reconciliation services

catering to approximately 23,000 active merchants and processing over ZAR24 billion ($1.3 billion) annually. Its corporate card services support more than 245,000 cardholders, covering payroll, incentives, rewards, and expense management.

Additionally, Adumo ISV, known as GAAP, is the leading POS and Software-as-a-Service provider for the hospitality sector in Southern Africa.

Following the acquisition, Lesaka’s ecosystem will expand to serve 1.7 million active consumers and 119,000 merchants, processing over ZAR250 billion $13.7 billion) annually.

The group will employ over 3,300 people across five countries:

• South Africa
• Namibia
• Botswana
• Zambia, and
• Kenya

Lesaka stated that this acquisition strengthens its position as the ‘natural consolidator’ of Southern African fintech, bolstering its capabilities in both consumer and merchant markets.

“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,” said Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa.

“The pending acquisition of Adumo is another significant milestone for Lesaka as we build the top fintech platform in Southern Africa.”

Adumo Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Paul Kent, said he was looking forward to joining forces with the Lesaka team and ‘contributing to the continued success of the Lesaka story.’

“Our combined offering will significantly enhance the customer value proposition, and it is a natural fit considering our respective strengths and technology offerings,” he said.

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