Offer details and banks
OPay priced its deal at $19 a share, coming in at the bottom of its indicated range, and sized the offering at 16 million ADSs. The company also gave banks a 30 day window to purchase as many as 2.4 million additional ADSs to cover any over allotments, with that option set to close on Nov. 2.
Serving as joint book-running managers are Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, Hong Kong Branch, and Standard Bank of South Africa LTd. Shares are scheduled to begin trading on the NYSE on Friday.
Strategy and footprint
With an implied valuation close to $4 billion, OPay ranks among the biggest fintechs to originate from Africa. The company is a dominant player in Nigeria's fast growing digital payments market, reporting more than 50 million active users.
"We have a strong position in Nigeria, and from there we would like to expand into more markets in Africa," Chief Financial Officer James Perry said in an interview. He added that the listing will support those plans by providing proceeds and a higher profile. OPay is looking at countries where management "think there are still substantial unmet needs for financial services and large unserved populations," and will finalize specific targets after the listing.
New tools can help investors uncover opportunities and manage risk with confidence. We're hosting our first ever investor livestream on 11/17 to show you how to use ChatGPT and Claude to invest like a pro, hosted by Briefs Finance CEO Jaspreet Singh. Save your seat.
Why this listing matters
The transaction sets a valuation marker for Africa's venture backed technology sector and provides a path to liquidity for shareholders such as HSG, Sequoia Capital's China division, which split from the parent firm in 2023. Momentum is building as well; earlier this month, Airtel Money made its debut on the London Stock Exchange.
A number of other fintechs that started out in Nigeria - including Flutterwave Inc., PalmPay, and Moniepoint - have grown from startups into some of the region's biggest businesses as the sector matures. The bottom line: a New York debut gives OPay fresh capital and more visibility as it pushes beyond Nigeria, and it signals that Africa's payments rails are drawing global capital and public market attention.
Learning how to use smarter information can give a thoughtful investor an edge. On 11/17, our CEO Jaspreet Singh goes live for our first ever investor livestream on how to use ChatGPT and Claude to invest like a pro. Register to join him.
