South African fintech company Lesaka has announced the acquisition of its counterpart Adumo in a transaction valued at ZAR1.59 billion (US$85.9 million), pending shareholder and regulatory approval.
Adumo is recognized as South Africa’s largest independent payments processor, providing services to approximately 23,000 active merchants, including card acquiring, integrated payments, and reconciliation services. Following a US$15 million investment from IFC in 2021, Adumo has actively expanded its portfolio by acquiring several companies such as SwitchPay, WireCard, GAAP, SureSwipe, iKhokha, among other smaller payment entities.
The acquisition by Lesaka, a South African fintech that delivers superior financial services solutions through its proprietary banking and payment technologies, involves a payment of ZAR1.59 billion. This will be settled by issuing 17,279,803 shares of Lesaka common stock to Adumo’s ultimate shareholders, plus a cash payment of ZAR 232 million (US$12.5 million). Adumo’s shareholders include entities like Apis Growth Fund I, managed by Apis Partners LLP; African Rainbow Capital, the largest shareholder of Crossfin Holdings; as well as IFC and Adumo management.
Adumo’s operations span card acquiring, integrated payments, and reconciliation services for its merchant base, processing over ZAR24 billion (US$1.3 billion) annually. Its corporate card services support more than 245,000 cardholders, facilitating payroll, incentives, rewards, and expense management. Additionally, Adumo ISV, also known as GAAP, stands as the largest provider of POS and Software-as-a-Service solutions to the hospitality sector in Southern Africa.
Post-acquisition, Lesaka’s ecosystem will expand to serve 1.7 million active consumers, 119,000 merchants, and process over ZAR250 billion in throughput per year. The group will have a workforce of over 3,300 employees spread across five countries: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Kenya. This acquisition reinforces Lesaka’s position as a key consolidator of fintech in Southern Africa and is expected to strengthen its capabilities across both consumer and merchant markets.
Lincoln Mali, CEO of Lesaka Southern Africa, expressed enthusiasm about the integration, stating, “We are thrilled to welcome the Adumo team into the Group and Adumo CEO Paul Kent onto our executive leadership team. This acquisition is a significant milestone as we continue to build the leading fintech platform in Southern Africa.”
Paul Kent, co-founder and chief executive of Adumo, also shared his optimism about the merger, remarking, “Joining forces with the Lesaka team marks an exciting chapter. Our combined resources will significantly enhance the customer value proposition, leveraging our complementary strengths and technological capabilities.”
