E-Commerce Firm Jumia Draws Takeover Interest From Axian

Jumia Technologies AG, the biggest e-commerce company in Africa, has drawn takeover interest from telecommunications company Axian Telecom, people familiar with the matter said.

Axian, which is based in Mauritius and primarily offers telecommunications services in Africa, raised $600 million this week to refinance its debt and help fund a possible takeover of Jumia, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. No final decisions have been made and the companies may not come to an agreement, they said. Jumia has a market value of about $500 million.

The deal would help both companies expand across the continent, the people said. Jumia, which started in Nigeria in 2012 and held an initial public offering in New York in 2019, could be delisted in any deal, they said. Axian has been building a stake in the company, and announced in May that it held 8 percent of shares.

Representatives for Jumia and Axian declined to comment.

Jumia’s American depositary receipts jumped 5.7 percent to $4.25 at 10:54 a.m. in New York after earlier surging as much as 17 percent, the biggest intraday gain since May. The stock has risen 11 percent this year.

Often referred to as the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia has had to do its own mapping in some of its markets and set up logistics networks to cater to a young and increasingly tech-savvy population that uses smartphones to bridge gaps in infrastructure and services. It was one of the first African companies to achieve “unicorn” status with a valuation of more than $1 billion, but its shares have declined significantly since the IPO.

By Loni Prinsloo

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