Chinese money powerhouse, Ant Group, could acquire Nigeria’s Interswitch next year, sequel to pulling off its $34.1 billion IPO which put the company’s value at $310 billion, reports have said.
Sequel to their record-setting IPO, several financial market analysts in Africa say Ant Group is set to make moves that will see it penetrate the African market in the coming year. And invariably, the continent's most-attrative locally-owned fintechs are expected to be their targeted penetration channels.
For context, Interswitch has a hugely successful product in Verve and an abundance of relevant first-hand data on the fintech market in Africa, being Nigeria's pioneer of the electronic payment sector. And in fact, No other sub-Saharan African company has a product like Interswitch Verve, a product that pits its wits against the USA's Visa and Mastercard. So, many consider it natural that Ant Financial will come for it.
Analysts also put Fluterwave as a second-option to Interswitch, provided an acquisition deal for Interswitch proves impossible. Whichever one of the two might happen to be acquired by Ant Group however, the prospect is an interesting one for Nigeria's and Africa's payments space.
