MTN Nigeria Fully Acquires MoMo PSB in N6.95 Billion Deal

3 months ago Newsroom

MTN Nigeria has acquired the remaining 7.17% stake in MoMo Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) from Acxani Capital for N6.95 billion, making MoMo PSB a wholly-owned subsidiary.

This purchase, disclosed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) website, followed Acxani’s proposal to sell their 20% stake in May 2024, which had been diluted to 7.17%.

The total cost of the acquisition amounted to N16.35 billion. This included the N6.95 billion paid directly to Acxani Capital and an additional N9.4 billion invested in MoMo. As a result, MTN Nigeria’s “Other Reserves” declined by N12.97 billion. The transaction also involved the acquisition of assets worth N3.38 billion from Acxani Capital.

MoMo PSB, licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2022, has continued to record significant growth. By the end of the second quarter of 2024, it reported a significant recovery in its active wallets, reaching 5.5 million.

This comes after a 9% decline in active wallets during Q1 2024, attributed to the National Identification Number (NIN) requirement for Know Your Customer (KYC) validation.

According to MTN’s half-year 2024 financial results released on Wednesday, the number of MoMo active wallets increased by 701,000 in Q2, reflecting a strong rebound.

This growth in mobile money users positively impacted the company’s fintech revenue, which saw an 11% increase over the six months and a 22.2% rise in Q2 alone. Specifically, MTN’s fintech revenue climbed to N48.6 billion for the first half of 2024, up from N43.6 billion during the same period last year.

CEO Karl Toriola attributed the growth in fintech revenue primarily to the success of their airtime lending product, Xtratime, alongside a notable uptick in the adoption of MoMo services.