• Fintech firm e4 is set to be acquired by a consortium of private equity investors for over R1 billion.
• The fintech firm’s growth in the property market has attracted the acquisition led by Infinite Partners.
• Established in 2022, Infinite Partners typically focusses on mid-market growth investments between R100 million and R1.5 billion.

Local fintech firm e4 has announced that it will be acquired by a consortium of private equity investors led by Infinite Partners.

The acquisition is worth over R1 billion according to a press release sent to Hypertext. The transaction will reportedly give e4 access to the capital it needs to advance its business.

The fintech firm offers a range of digital solutions for conveyancing, onboarding customers and more. The firm’s clients include SA’s big banks such as Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.

Infinite Partners is an Africa private equity fund manager established in 2022 after it was spun out rom Ethos Private Equity. The fund is focussed on mid-market growth investments between the value of R100 million and R1.5 billion.

“The e4 Group has been on a successful journey of sustainable growth and expansion over the past several years. This has involved expanding our relationships and value creation with our local strategic partners as well as focusing on revenue diversification and geographic expansion,” chief executive officer at e4 group, Grant Phillips said in a statement.

“With some of these initiatives being in their infancy, the timing of this new partnership comes at an opportune time for the business. The entire consortium is aligned to the organisation’s strategy, supportive of the team tasked with executing on it and have already started providing input on additional opportunities that we have jointly identified,” added Phillips.

The e4 Group employs as many as 200 professionals and in 2021 it launched a new group in the UK focused on building e4’s relationship with conveyancing firms and mortgage lenders in the region. That sector appears to have been rather attractive for Infinite Partners and the consortium.

“With its proptech offering, e4 operates within digital & tech, a sector that Infinite Partners has identified as having structural growth potential. Proptech is a niche segment of the economy, and it has taken a significant amount of time and investment to build this world-class technology stack,” Naomi Nethengwe from Infinite Partners said.

Furthermore, Infinite Partners was impressed by e4’s growth potential given the penetration of its existing product stack.

“From our first engagement, we were impressed with e4’s management team which has been fully professionalised with key positions occupied by individuals who have experience but are still hungry to grow the business and take it to greater heights. We look forward to seeing e4’s management leverage their experience, knowledge and client relationships to spearhead strategic growth. As investment partners, we will look to be supportive yet challenging in order to drive the appropriate outcomes alongside management,” said the fund’s chief executive officer, Edward Pitsi (pictured).

We look forward to seeing how e4’s solutions expand and how it grows on the back of this investment.