WorldRemit is planning to acquire Africa centric remittance platform Sendwave for a cash and stock deal worth over $500 million. The deal is expected to close in 2020 Q4, subject to both licensing and regulatory approval. The Sendwave acquisition will boost WorldRemit’s presence in Africa, riding on Sendwave’s success in East and West Africa. Sendwave also recently launched their first receiving market in Bangladesh, entering the Asian market.
The Sendwave acquisition is in line with WordRemit CEO’s optimism towards the growth of the remittance market after the pandemic. The lockdown accelerated money transfer orders, doubling the number of new account activations on the platform.
CEO Breon Corcoran says that the company will combine its global money transfer network with Sendwave’s instantaneous, low fee transfer platform to offer faster digital payments. Further, it will increase the scale of payments between the US and Africa.
“WorldRemit has one of the broadest and most accessible networks for money transfers globally. Combining it with Sendwave, which offers instant, no/low-fee and fully digital payments from North America and Europe to Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and East Africa, addresses customer needs for fast and secure digital payments – especially given today’s travel restrictions and economic turmoil,” reads a WorldRemit statement.
Sendwave Acquisition to Improve WorldRemit’s Network
After the Sendwave acquisition, the value of the combined company will jump to over $1.5 billion, with over 100 sending licences on a pro forma basis. The combined company will also have a network of over 50 sending and 150 receiving countries, which would further push their transfers. In the past twelve months to June 30 2020, WorldRemit and Sendwave facilitated transfers worth approximately $7.5 billion. As such, their combined revenues grew by 50% YoY to $280 million.
The combined company will have approximately 8,000 payment corridors boosting its capacity to slice the global remittances market expected to hit $930 billion in 2026.
Nevertheless, Sendwave will operate independently and retain its employees, partners, management and brand.
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