Dubai based Network International Holdings Plc announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Kenya-based Direct Pay Online (DPO) Group for $228 million.
The consideration will be almost entirely funded through the proceeds from an equity placing representing 10.0% of the Company’s existing issued share capital, USD50 million vendor consideration shares issued to Apis Growth Fund I, managed by Apis Partners, USD13 million consideration shares issued to the DPO co-founders, with any small remaining balance to be funded via existing debt facilities.
DPO is the one of the leading online commerce platforms operating at scale across Africa. Last year, it acquired South Africa payments processing service, PayFast. With Kenya and Tanzania representing major markets, DPO Group is present in 19 countries across Africa with South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania.
With over 25 years under its belt, Network International is the largest acquirer in the UAE and the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.
Network International provides a robust suite of payment products and services that are on the cutting edge of technology development. In 2019, they processed $43.8 billion in total processed volumes (TPV) for more than 70,000 merchants and processed 752 million issuer transactions on 14.2 million cards for over 200 financial institutions.
Simon Haslam, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We are excited by the proposed acquisition of DPO, the leading high-growth online commerce platform operating at scale across Africa. Africa is a vast and diverse continent, representing the world’s most underpenetrated, nascent and fast growing payments markets, where we have seen recent signs of an acceleration in those trends. DPO will further consolidate our presence in Africa, strengthen our position across the entire payments value chain and accelerate our growth. This acquisition will widen our capabilities across online, mobile and alternative payments; bring an extensive and diverse range of direct merchant relationships to our business; and provide a wider range of solutions for our existing customers. We look forward to bringing our two businesses together and welcoming DPO’s colleagues into our group. Together, we have a powerful combination to accelerate digital payments across our regions and deliver significant shareholder value.”
With its corporate head office in Dubai, Network International has operation centers in the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa and Nigeria.
