Visa to buy 20% stake in Interswitch for $200m ahead of IPO

Visa Ltd, US-based retail electronic network, is said to be planning an acquisition of a stake up to a fifth of Interswitch, ahead of an expected London IPO of the Nigerian-based payments-processing company which is expected to take place before the end of 2019.

Information suggests that Visa is in the latter stages of discussions to pay $200m for a 20 percent stake in Interswitch and the deal would be announced this week. Neither company has confirmed the information.

A partnership between Visa and Interswitch would mirror moves made by Mastercard, earlier this year, to invest $300 million in Dubai-based Network International, the largest payments processor in the Middle East and Africa, ahead of its London IPO.

As such, a deal between Visa and Interswitch would help the former take advantage of Interswitch’s position as a leading electronics payment and infrastructure company in accessing Africa’s vast under serviced market. Source: Business Day