Africa-Focused Money Transfer Company, Sendwave, to be Acquired by WorldRemit

• WorldRemit, a global cross-border payment company, has announced it will acquire Sendwave, an Africa-focused money transfer app based in the US.
• The deal which will be in cash and stock is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to its press release.
• WorldRemit is a ten-year-old company which serves over 4 million clients across 150 countries and has processed $7.5b in transactions through its network and Sendwave’s.

WorldRemit, a global cross-border payment company, has announced it will acquire Sendwave, an Africa-focused money transfer app based in the US.

The deal which will be in cash and stock is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to its press release. Though it wasn’t stated the amount, Bloomberg pegged it at over $500 million.

Sendwave was founded by Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk in 2014 when the co-founder Drew found it hard to send money for an NGO that he was operating in Tanzania. The first target of the company was Kenya before it expanded to serve customers who wished to transfer money to Nigeria , Ghana and Senegal.

Following the close of the deal, Sendwave will continue to operate independently. Similarly, it will retain its brand, management, employees, mobile applications and key partners.

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Sendwave will continue to work independently until the transaction ends. It will likewise maintain its brand, executives, staff, mobile applications and major partners.

CEO of WorldRemit, Breon Corcoran, provided more insight on the partnership and acquisition. He said,

“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.”

The ten-year – old company serves over 4 million clients across 150 countries. And in the last fiscal year, ending June 2020, it processed $7.5b in transactions through its network and Sendwave’s, bringing in revenue of around $280m.