WorldRemit, a UK-based cross-border payments firm, has agreed to acquire Sendwave, an app-based remittance company in a cash and stock deal.
Subject to licensing and regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of this year.
Established in 2014, the firm helps remit money across African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal. Recently, the firm had added Bangladesh in the receiving countries list.
The app-based remittance system lets users send money instantly from their smartphone to a recipient’s mobile money account.
Citing a source with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported that the deal is worth over $500m and the combined company could be valued over $1.5bn.
Sendwave CEO Will Fogel said: “Our users send money so their loved ones can pay for necessities like utilities, healthcare and education/school fees. ‘Sendwave-ing’ money is as easy as sending a text – one less worry for the hard-working and generous diaspora communities that we serve.
“We’re eager to combine WorldRemit’s wide reach with our recipe for success in areas like Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. Together, we can achieve a better service for current and future users.”
Sendwave will operate as an independent entity
After the deal closure, Sendwave will operate as an independent entity, while retaining its mobile applications, brand, management, employees and key partners.
WorldRemit CEO Breon Corcoran said: “Both WorldRemit and Sendwave share a common purpose: allowing customers to easily and cost effectively send financial support to families, friends and businesses in other countries. 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.”
In the last one year ending this June, the UK-based payments firm and Sendwave claimed to have sent nearly $7.5bn in transfer, generating about $280m in revenue and recording a 50% year-on-year growth.
