E-commere platform, Jumia Technologies AG – which we all know as Jumia – has announced the completion of its “at the market” offering. On November 30, 2020, Jumia had filed a prospectus supplement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of 7,969,984 ADSs through an “at the market” offering with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as Jumia’s agent.
ADSs are American Depositary Shares which refer to shares in foreign companies that are held by U.S. depositary banks and can be traded in the U.S., including on major exchanges. ADSs represent ownership interests in securities that are on deposit with the depositary and allow foreign companies access to a wider investor base and the American financial marketplace.
So, according to reports, all the 7,969,984 ADSs offered by Jumia have been sold at an average price of $30.51 per ADS, generating aggregate gross process of $243.2 million. Proceeds, net of commissions and expenses, are expected to be $231.4 million. Jumia intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes.
Recently, MTN Group announced its plans to sell part or all of its US$243-million stake in Jumia Technologies. This was as the telco looks to clear its pile of debts and also enter new markets. MTN had earlier marked the e-commerce site as a non-core business but has rejuvenated its plans to make a sale after Jumia’s shares recovered from a dip in 2019.
Jumia, which operates in 14 African countries, had dropped below its initial public offering price in 2019 after improper transactions in its Nigerian business were uncovered.
In April this year, German tech investor Rocket Internet also sold its stake in the e-commerce site. The company, which had held an 11% stake in Jumia as of November 8th, sold its holding at the time when the coronavirus crisis became a pandemic all over the globe.
Source: BW
