valU, buy now, pay later (BNPL) lifestyle-enabling fintech platform, announced today that Saudi’s Alhokair family acquired a 4.99% stake in valU valued at 12.4 million.
The transaction marks Alhokair family’s first investment in a BNPL platform in Egypt and is currently subject to relevant regulatory approvals and satisfaction of certain conditions precedent.
The transaction comes in line with valU’s entry into the Saudi market later last week through FAS Finance, a joint venture (JV) with FAS Labs in which FAS Labs owns 65% while valU owns 35%
With its entry into the Saudi market, valU will be present across Alhokair’s retail network of more than 1,000 stores as well as online on the VogaCloset and monobrand websites, including 14 in Saudi Arabia.
“We are thrilled to be further growing our partnership with the Alhokair Family. The transaction puts valU, the largest BNPL provider in Egypt, at a USD 247.4 million valuation, and is a testament to valU’s visible success story, business model, and potential for growth in Egypt and on a regional level,” said Karim Awad, Group CEO of EFG Hermes Holding.
Last month, EFG Hermes Holding and Amazon entered into an option agreement whereby Amazon agreed to acquire $10 million in EFG Hermes GDRs with the option to replace that investment into valU at a future date, translating into a stake of 4.25% of the issued share capital of valU.
Also read: EFG Hermes Holding’ subsidiary Tanmeyah acquired B2B e-commerce marketplace Fatura
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