Online payment company, Interswitch, has formally concluded the acquisition of Value Added Network Solutions Limited (VANSO), a company that provides security-focused financial technology to mostly banks.
The transaction started in February this year when we reported that Interswitch was acquiring VANSO in a N15 billion buyout. As of now, all documents have been signed and all relevant regulatory and shareholder approvals (including one from the Securities and Exchange Commission) have been given, making the acquisition official.
Talking about the acquisition, Interswitch Group MD and CEO, Mitchell Elegbe said, “The acquisition of VANSO, both a market leader in the mobile financial services industry and a strong and profitable business, is a great opportunity to combine our respective technology offerings and skill sets, driving growth in our business. By integrating operations, we not only secure access to new payment channels, but a highly skilled leadership team as well, while VANSO now has access to new markets, a mutually beneficial step for both our companies.”
What this acquisition means for VANSO is that their current management team will be absorbed into the Interswitch management organisation, and VANSO CEO, Denis O’Brien will lead Interswitch’s mobile payment’s business unit. VANSO’s existing shareholders will also become shareholders of the Interswitch Group.
“In Interswitch, we have found a partner with ambitions aligned to our own, and the institutional backing and scale to rapidly accelerate their attainment. I would like to thank our Board, executive management team and all our staff, who have worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to identify the most appropriate growth option for us. We look forward to working with the Interswitch management and board over the coming years to deepen and broaden financial services across the continent,” says VANSO CEO, Denis O’Brien.
Interswitch acquiring VANSO is one more strategic step to improve their products and services, and expand to new markets. In 2014, Interswitch acquired Kenya’s Paynet Group (they later rebranded to Interswitch East Africa in 2015) and this created a combined network of over 150 financial institutions, thereby strengthening Interswitch’s hold in the East African market. This new acquisition transaction will result in VANSO’s mobile banking, SMS and security business lines being fully integrated into Interswitch’s digital commerce and technology operations in Nigeria, and across the Africa.
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