Network International Holdings plc, a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, has announced its agreement to acquire DPO Group, leading, high-growth online commerce platform in Africa, for $288m.
The consideration will be almost entirely funded through the proceeds from an equity placing representing 10.0 per cent of the company’s existing issued share capital, $50m vendor consideration shares issued to Apis Growth Fund I, managed by Apis Partners, $13m consideration shares issued to the DPO co-founders, with any small remaining balance to be funded via existing debt facilities.
On the proposed acquisition, Simon Haslam, Network International Holdings Chief Executive Officer, stated: “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.”
According to Haslam, the acquisition will widen the company’s capabilities across online, mobile and alternative payments.
He added, “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.”
