Big plans for South African bank being bought for R1.1 billion
Lesaka Technologies plans to expand its product services into banking with the acquisition of Bank Zero, a deal valued at around R1.1 billion.
Bank Zero was founded by former FNB executives Michael Jordaan and Yatin Narsai in 2018 and officially launched to the public in 2021.
Bank Zero is one of South Africa’s digital banks, like GoTyme, Discovery Bank and OM Bank, and focuses on low monthly fees. The bank is highly focused on security, with no card fraud since its launch.
Lesaka is a U.S.-incorporated firm that provides financial technology products and services to underserved consumers and small businesses.
The business also provides low-cost financial services to underserved and unbanked customers, including microloans, insurance, transaction switching and payment processing.
The groups announced the terms of the proposed sale in July, in which Lesaka would acquire Bank Zero for around R1.1 billion.
The transaction is structured with up to R91 million in cash, with the remainder funded via a host of newly issued Lesaka shares. Bank Zero’s shareholders will own about 12% of Lesaka’s fully diluted shares.
Speaking at the group’s Q3 FY26 results presentation, Lesaka Technologies Executive Chairman Ali Mazanderani said that the deal has multiple benefits for the business.
Specifically, in the merchant space, Bank Zero has historically focused on being a digital provider to SMEs.
Mazanderani said that Lesaka will be able to offer a banking product through its existing salesforce and relationships.
He said this should augment Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), especially since the group also benefits from float and other sources.
The Competition Tribunal gave the green light to the acquisition in late 2025, allowing Lesaka to directly control Zero Research, the parent company of Bank Zero.
The transaction is, however, still awaiting approval from the Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank.
Lesaka’s financial results
The group’s revenue was little changed at around R3 billion, while the group’s basic earnings per share improved from a loss of 5.15 cents per share in Q3 2025 to 0.17 cents per share in Q3 2026.
The merchandise business was comfortably the largest segment for the group, with revenue of close to R2.1 billion, while consumer saw revenue of R627 million, and enterprise R310 million.
“I am pleased to report another strong quarter for Lesaka as we continue to improve our profitability,” said Mazanderani.
“We achieved group Adjusted EBITDA growth of 45% and an Adjusted Earnings per Share of ZAR 1.80, up more than 200% year-on-year.”
For the whole FY2026, the group expects the following results, excluding the impact of the Bank Zero acquisition:
- Adjusted earnings per share between R5.50 and R6.00.
- Net Revenue between R6.2 billion and R6.5 billion.
- Group Adjusted EBITDA between R1.25 billion and R1.35 billion.
- Net Income Attributable to Lesaka is to be positive.
The Executive Chairman added that the group has built a diversified platform, with multiple levers of sustainable growth, which he said positions the group exceptionally well for the years to come.
| Group Level | Q3 FY26 | Q3 FY25 | YoY% |
| Revenue | 2,994,536 | 2,987,226 | 0.2% |
| Net Revenue⁽²⁾ | 1,576,015 | 1,357,159 | 16% |
| Operating Income⁽³⁾ | 65,013 | 7,188 | 804% |
| Net Income (Loss)⁽³⁾ | 8,383 | (409,790) | nm |
| Group Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ | 337,071 | 233,026 | 45% |
| Basic Earnings (Loss) per Share⁽³⁾ | 0.17 | (5.15) | Nm |
| Adjusted Earnings⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ | 148,349 | 42,917 | 246% |
| Adjusted Earnings per Share⁽²⁾⁽³⁾ | 1.80 | 0.52 | 247% |
Loading ...