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Prosus N.V., the global Internet group led by South African billionaire Koos Bekker, has reached an agreement to sell the Global Payments Organisation (GPO), which forms part of its emerging-markets financial technology company PayU to Israel’s Rapyd for $610 million.
The GPO business offers cutting-edge e-commerce payment solutions to global merchants across more than 30 countries in Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Africa.
With this strategic move, PayU aims to unlock value for its shareholders and concentrate on India’s vast payments and fintech opportunities, where it currently holds a dominant position, serving over 450,000 merchants and more than 2 million credit customers.
Rapyd’s acquisition represents a significant opportunity to expand and strengthen its presence in Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America, while gaining access to crucial licenses and payment processing infrastructure.
The deal aligns with Rapyd’s growth strategy, as the company operates in various locations worldwide, including Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, Iceland, San Francisco, Miami, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Following the announcement, Prosus shares surged by 97 basis points on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, leading to a closing price of €72.1 ($79.1) and propelling the group’s market capitalization beyond €137 billion ($150.4 billion).
Notably, this spike in share value also increased the market value of Bekker’s 0.74-percent stake in Prosus to a staggering €1.013 billion ($1.11 billion) at the time of writing.
Bob van Dijk, the CEO of Prosus and Naspers, expressed enthusiasm for the sale, emphasizing the GPO’s substantial growth in recent years.
Over the past five years alone, payment volumes within the business have soared by more than 300 percent, cementing its strong position within the global fintech landscape.
Van Dijk noted that the company’s renewed focus on India presents exciting opportunities for further expansion and innovation in the rapidly evolving digital payments industry of one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies.
In line with Prosus’s strategy, Laurent le Moal, PayU’s CEO, affirmed that the sale of the GPO signifies an exciting chapter for the Payments & Fintech segment.
The decision allows PayU to channel its investments into the Indian market, where the payments business has recorded impressive growth, achieving a remarkable 42-percent year-on-year increase in the last year alone.
