Lesaka to acquire prepaid electricity submetering and payments business Recharger, expanding alternative payments offering

Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Operating Officer of Lesaka Naeem Kola said, “This is an exciting addition to our fintech platform, adding scale to our Enterprise pillar and bringing new revenue opportunities to Lesaka. The Recharger acquisition will facilitate us playing a larger role in the prepaid electricity vending and payments value chain and fits well with our existing technologies and services in the Enterprise pillar.”                      

The purchase consideration of ZAR 507 million ($28 million translated at the average exchange rate of $1: ZAR 18.06 as of November 18, 2024) will be paid over two tranches with the first tranche settled at closing and the second tranche a year later. The purchase consideration will be settled through a combination of ZAR 332 million ($18 million) in cash and ZAR 175 million ($10 million) in shares of Lesaka common stock. The share price applied to determine the number of shares of Lesaka’s common stock to be issued for the equity consideration will be based on the volume-weighted average price of Lesaka shares for the three-month period prior to the disbursal of each tranche. Lesaka will also make a ZAR 43 million ($2 million) contribution to Recharger at closing which will be used exclusively to repay a loan due by Recharger to the seller.

The Company expects the transaction to be concluded at an EV/EBITDA multiple of approximately 6 times.

The Company expects the acquisition to act as an entry point into the South African private utilities space while augmenting the Enterprise pillar’s alternative payment offering. 

The transaction is expected to close in Lesaka’s third quarter of fiscal 2025 and is subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

About Recharger (www.recharger.co.za)

Recharger is a South African prepaid electricity submetering and payments business with a base of over 460,000 registered prepaid electricity meters.

Recharger enables landlords to collect payment for utilities usage from tenants in advance, eliminating the need to manage billing and collections. This model further provides tenants with the ability to manage their utility usage and payments directly, providing them with greater control over cost.

About Lesaka (www.lesakatech.com) 

Lesaka Technologies, (Lesaka™) is a South African Fintech company driven by a purpose to provide financial services and software to Southern Africa’s underserviced consumers (B2C) and merchants (B2B), improving people’s lives and increasing financial inclusion in the markets in which we operate. We offer a wide range of integrated payment solutions including transactional accounts (banking), lending, insurance, payouts, cash management solutions, card acceptance, supplier payments, software services and bill payments. By providing a full-service fintech platform in our connected ecosystem, we facilitate the digitization of commerce in our markets.

Lesaka has a primary listing on NASDAQ (NasdaqGS: LSAK) and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE: LSK). Visit www.lesakatech.com for additional information about Lesaka Technologies (Lesaka ™).