Due diligence opens door to $110m investment in SA challenger bank

Genesis was tasked with conducting a commercial due diligence of Tyme Bank in order to advise Apis on the feasibility of acquiring the bank. 

Due to this extensive analysis and using existing trends to project future growth, the Genesis team was able to provide clear guidance to Apis – validating certain projections and raising concerns with well-motivated counter-projections where needed. Apis (along with another investor) committed to a USD110 million investment in Tyme Bank.

Based on the role played by Genesis, CDC (the United Kingdom’s development finance institution, since renamed British International Investment) subsequently engaged Genesis to conduct a follow-up due diligence to inform its own potential investment. 

Genesis leveraged its deep understanding of Tyme Bank to successfully advise on the transaction. CDC and Tencent (a Chinese technology and entertainment conglomerate) subsequently invested a further USD70 million in Tyme Bank.

These investments have proven vital in Tyme Bank’s continued expansion, with the bank since crossing a total of four million customers. 

In providing a rigorous, independent voice to the two investors’ due diligence exercises, Genesis was able to provide the necessary comfort to these two stakeholders, with the result being a set of commercially profitable investments that will play a role in further fostering financial inclusion in South Africa.