According to Zhitong Finance APP, Opay, a payment platform focused on the Nigerian market,
Ltd. plans to raise up to $336 million through an initial public offering (IPO). According to documents filed Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Opay intends to issue 16 million American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) at a price range of $19 to $21 per ADR. Each ADR represents 10 ordinary shares of Opay. Based on the midpoint of the offering price range and the number of outstanding ordinary shares listed in the filing, Opay’s market capitalization could exceed $4 billion. The company expects its ADRs to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “OPAY”.
The document shows, including Redwheel, Coronation Investment Management International Pty, and Sundt.
Investors including AS have agreed to collectively purchase up to $270 million in ADRs at the IPO offering price. Meanwhile, the documents show that Standard Bank Group
Ltd. has agreed to purchase ordinary shares of Opay through a private placement. The consideration for these shares will be determined according to a formula, equal to the lower of: $200 million, or the proportion of Opay’s outstanding shares after the issuance, plus Standard
Amounts calculated based on potential metrics such as bank regulatory capital ratios.
Opay is gradually becoming one of Africa’s most valuable fintech companies and a leader in Nigeria’s rapidly growing digital payments sector. In 2021, Opay raised $400 million in funding at a $2 billion valuation, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Led by Vision Fund 2, with participation from HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China) and Long-Z, the venture capital arm of China’s food delivery giant Meituan.
Capital also participated in this funding round. According to the documents, Opay achieved a net profit of $61 million and revenue of $467.1 million in the six months ended June 30; in comparison, during the same period last year, the company incurred a net loss of $5.9 million and generated revenue of $197.5 million.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has become a fertile ground for the growth of fintech unicorns such as Flutterwave, Moniepoint, and Interswitch. Rising demand for mobile financial services has also driven Airtel
The market attention surrounding Africa Plc's listing on the London Stock Exchange in October raised approximately £529 million (around $708 million) for its supporters.
This IPO by Opay will provide a valuation benchmark for Africa’s venture capital-backed tech sector, which has faced funding challenges and sluggish deal activity since the post-pandemic slowdown in private capital markets.