Interswitch doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. The Nigerian fintech startup that just reached a unicorn status has further listed N23billion Bond. The Callable Senior Unsecured Bond, with a tenor of seven years, at a fixed rate of 15 percent, is part of a N30 billion Debt Issuance Programme issued through a Special Purpose Vehicle — Interswitch Africa One Plc.
“We are delighted with the outcome of our capital raising efforts. We have evolved over the past 17 years into a technology unicorn focused on providing digital solutions to customers in Nigeria and across Africa. We, therefore, see this listing as a first step in a new phase of our journey and we are determined to keep going,”Group Managing Director/Founder Interswitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe said.
Here Is All You Need To Know
- The Interswitch Series 1 Bond Issue priced at 15percent was 2.6 times subscribed. The 7-year Bonds, embedding a call option that can only be exercised from the second year, are payable in full at maturity. Investor participation was restricted to qualified institutional investors as defined by the SEC in Nigeria, with a proposed Bonds allocation of 64percent to pension fund managers, 7percent to asset managers and 22percent to commercial banks pending SEC approval.
- The strong level of over subscription demonstrated investor confidence in the Interswitch brand, business model and long-term strategy, supported by strong domestic ratings from both Agusto & Co. Limited (Agusto) and Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s).
- The Issuer was assigned “Aa3” national scale programme rating (stable) by Moody’s and “Aa” (stable) national scale rating by Agusto, on the back of positive secular industry shifts, a strong market position and a good liquidity profile. The Sponsor was also assigned “Aa” (stable) rating by Agusto.
‘‘We are pleased to be a partner to Interswitch Limited in its quest to expand its footprints by raising fresh capital. We see a win for Interswitch as a win for Nigeria. As a sustainable Exchange and a premiere listing destination, we are committed to supporting our issuers with tailored financing options that will place them in a vantage position to compete in the regional and global markets,” Oscar Onyeama, CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange stated.
FBNQuest Merchant Bank and Stanbic IBTC Capital acted as Lead Financial Advisors/Issuing Houses and ABSA Capital Markets Nigeria, FCMB Capital Markets, Quantum Zenith Capital & Investments and Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, as Joint Issuing Houses.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com