Just over three months after they first reached an agreement, the Turkish neobank Papara has officially announced its successful acquisition of Sadapay, the Pakistan EMI that has been a poster child for fintech startups in the country.
“We are thrilled to announce that we successfully acquired Pakistan-based neobank SadaPay. This acquisition marks a significant strategic expansion into the Middle East and South Asia markets, ” Papara said in a Linkedin message.
In a message to his team, SadaPay CEO Brandon Timinsky said that the State Bank of Pakistan had finally given its regulatory approval to the deal.
The deal has been in the works for many months first while the two parties hashed out the details, and since February in the wait for the central bank to give the go ahead. While the details of the deal and the valuation at which it has been made has not been announced, Profit understands the all-stock deal is valued at around $30 million.
As part of the deal, Papara will also pump $10 million into the startup. This will be encouraging for the State Bank of Pakistan and the overall fintech landscape in the country. But what might the breakdown of this acquisition look like, and has Sadapay gotten a good deal? After all, this was a startup that was valued at around $100 million at one point. But the deal may still make sense, and might actually be worth more than it appears on the surface. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
