By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Electronic transaction switching and payment processing company, Interswitch Limited is eyeing dual Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) respectively for expansion into new African markets, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday.
The report quoted Mitchell Elegbe, chief executive officer (CEO) of Interswitch as having discussed share sales with banks including Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc and Standard Bank Group Ltd. and may choose advisers for a transaction within a few months.
Elegbe was reported to have disclosed in an interview in Lagos on May 28 that Interswitch is looking at doing an IPO, “We’re looking at the U.K. and Nigeria. Our industry is one that investors love. They understand it, especially in places like the U.K,” he added.
The company which processes payments for banks and owns a brand of debit cards in Nigeria also operates in five (5) African countries and owns Verve, a Nigerian provider of debit cards, would be the second company from the country to sell ordinary shares in both London and Lagos after Seplat Petroleum Development Company’s dual listing in April last year, the report said.
It affirmed the LSE has more than 120 listed African companies and expects about five Nigerian offerings over the next year, quoting Ibukun Adebayo, co-head of emerging-primary markets last month.
While the NSE all share index (ASI) has gained 14 percent over the past three (3) months after falling 16 percent last year before elections and as sliding oil prices hit Nigeria. The ASI declined 0.77 percent at the end of Monday’s trading on the Nigerian bourse.
The report further affirmed that Interswitch is about 70 percent-held by London-based private equity group Helios Investment Partners LLP, South Africa’s Adlevo Capital Managers LLC and the International Finance Corp., a unit of the World Bank, according to Elegbe. “There’s no guarantee of an IPO and the owners may instead decide to sell their holdings to a company, Elegbe who is also a shareholder said.
It also disclosed that Helios bought 52 percent of Interswitch for $96 million in December 2010, quoting its official website.
Elegbe said the Electronic transaction switching and payment processing company has grown rapidly since then amid a proliferation of automated teller-machines and point of sale devices in Nigeria and it may look to use any capital it raises to fund further expansion; but did not disclose the company’s revenues or profits, according to the Bloomberg report.
“We’re a very liquid company, but that’s not to say that if we go to the stock exchange we can’t achieve things a lot faster and on a bigger scale,” he said.
The company which would emerge the first Nigerian technology business to list on the LSE, according to Elegbe, also operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Gambia.
He said Interswitch plans to move into Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana.
