Nigerian fintech, Moniepoint has denied reports of a planned acquisition of Payday, a Rwandan-based neobank.
The rebuttal comes after WeeTracker, an African tech publication, reported that Moniepoint, which led PayDay’s $3 million seed round, is set to acquire it for $40 million.
WeeTracker reports that Moniepoint and PayDay are in talks about Moniepoint acquiring the neobank in the coming months.
Some investors close to the deal, according to TechCabal, have denied the reports, clarifying that Moniepoint only invested in PayDay. Moniepoint stated in an email response to TechCabal that their investment in PayDay was a “strategic investment” rather than an acquisition.
Despite these denials, two other sources say a deal is on the table and will most likely be reached.
They claimed that an agreement in principle has been reached and that it will not be surprising if the deal is completed because the acquisition allegedly makes sense for Moniepoint. PayDay had previously turned down a $15 million acquisition offer from an African unicorn, according to TechCrunch.
Moniepoint has a good chance of acquiring the neobank based on its potential. It currently processes 40,000 transactions per day and more than $25 million per month, while Moniepoint, on the other hand, is a business bank with the largest agency banking network in Nigeria, processing a total payment value of $170 billion last year, and acquisition of PayDay could help Moniepoint fasten its journey towards unicorn status.