Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising Helios Investment Partners (Helios) in its agreement to acquire a controlling two-third stake in Interswitch Limited (Interswitch), Nigeria&rsqu
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising Helios Investment Partners (Helios) in its agreement to acquire a controlling two-third stake in Interswitch Limited (Interswitch), Nigeria’s largest electronic transaction switching and payment processing service provider, from several Nigerian banks.
The proposed deal represents the largest ever e-payment transaction in Africa.
Interswitch provides shared, integrated message broker solutions for financial transactions, e-commerce, telecoms value-added services, e-billing, payment collections. It also administers Verve, the leading card scheme in Nigeria. It is the only switching and processing company connected to all banks in Nigeria as well as more than 10,000 automated teller machines and 11,000 point of sale terminals. In addition, it is the leading processor for Mastercard in Nigeria and the market leader in merchant acquiring/POS.
Helios, a London-based and Africa-focused private investment firm, manages funds and related co-investment entities on behalf of private and public institutions, global investment funds and high net worth individuals. Helios pursues a full range of investment types including business formations, growth equity investments, structured investments in listed entities and large leveraged acquisitions across Africa.
