Interswitch reignites plans to raise $1 billion from IPO

Interswitch, Nigeria’s leading payments processing company has reignited its plans for an initial public offering (IPO), via a dual listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange expected later this year.

Interswitch could raise about $1 billion in the IPO.

Consequently, Interswitch has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co, financial advisers, and Standard Bank Group as firms working on the potential initial public offering, according to reports by Bloomberg.

Bloomberg citing people asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private, said that Interswitch may be valued at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

Interswitch, owned by private equity firm Helios Investment Partners, has engaged with banks in recent weeks after a thwarted IPO attempt two years ago, the people said.

The potential IPO would come on the heels of two other major African and Middle Eastern tech company share sales this year.

Jumia Technologies AG, dubbed the Amazon of Africa, listed in New York earlier this year, while Dubai-based payments firm Network International Holdings Plc went public in London.

Representatives for Helios, Interswitch, JPMorgan and Citigroup declined to comment. Standard Bank didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment outside of regular business hours.

Interswitch pulled earlier plans to list in 2016 after the price of crude oil fell dramatically, causing a contraction in Nigeria’s economy.

As the economy recovers, an uptick in growth may accelerate payments between companies and thus revenues at payment services companies.

Helios is among several private funds that specialize in investing in African assets as the economic recovery taking place across the continent bolsters investor sentiment and infrastructure plans.