M&A advisory services in South Africa
South Africa produces a steady pipeline of M&A transactions in tech, fintech and services, with strategic acquirers from the JSE-listed corporate sector, pan-African PE houses and global trade buyers all active along the Joburg/Cape Town corridor.
South African exits span the full spectrum - from bootstrapped SME exits to venture-backed trade sales like GetSmarter's acquisition by 2U and Snapt's international buyer process - with Naspers/Prosus and Naspers alumni frequently involved as strategic acquirers.
Flow advises both bootstrapped and venture-backed South African founders through sell-side M&A processes, leveraging a strong PE and strategic acquirer network, KPI-driven preparation, and a lean end-to-end process from mandate to close.
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South Africa tech M&A deals in the last 12 months
$63M
South Africa median tech M&A valuation
1.2x
South Africa median tech M&A revenue multiple
$3.0B
South Africa biggest tech acquisition in the last 12 months
Selling your tech company in South Africa
South African M&A follows English-law-influenced conventions with country-specific overlays around SARB exchange control, B-BBEE considerations and the Competition Act merger control regime.
Completion accounts dominate
South African private M&A is predominantly completion-accounts based with detailed working-capital target and adjustment mechanics. Locked-box is growing in PE-led and tech deals but is not yet the default.
W&I insurance is standard
Warranty & indemnity insurance is standard in South African deals above roughly ZAR 200M (~USD 11M). Premiums (1.5-2.5% of cover) typically split between buyer and seller, replacing traditional escrow as the primary protection mechanism.
Competition Commission review
South African Competition Commission reviews transactions above the relevant turnover and asset thresholds. Mandatory pre-merger notification regime; most pure-tech tuck-in deals don't trigger but larger strategic deals routinely do.
Capital gains for founders
South African individuals are taxed on share disposal gains at an effective rate of up to 18% (40% inclusion rate against 45% top marginal rate). Specific exemptions for primary residence and certain small business assets. Offshore holding structures materially shape the post-tax outcome.
SARB exchange control
South African Reserve Bank exchange control regulations affect repatriation of foreign-derived proceeds and offshore acquirer payment structures. Material consideration for cross-border exits - typically managed via SARB applications and pre-clearances.
Participation exemption
Sales of qualifying foreign subsidiary shares by a South African corporate seller can be exempt from South African corporate tax under the participation exemption. Often drives whether a transaction is structured as a share or asset deal.
Recently acquired tech companies in South Africa
Biggest M&A recently in South Africa was a $3.0B acquisition of MultiChoice by Canal+ in June 2025.
See all M&A deals in South Africa| Logo | HQ | Description | Buyer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun-25 | MultiChoice | | MultiChoice is a South Africa-based operator of pay-television and internet subscriber platforms including the DStv digital satellite service launched in 1995. It provides video-on-demand and streaming content across Africa via multichoice.com. | Canal+ | $3.0B | 1.2x | |
Jun-25 | SMSPortal | | SMSPortal is a cloud-based messaging service enabling business-customer communications via SMS and API integrations. It supports maximum reach with cost-effective solutions for marketing campaigns, alerts, and two-way interactions. Smsportal.com provides scalable infrastructure for enterprises seeking authentic engagement across global audiences without complex setups. | LINK Mobility Group | $145M | 1.3x | |
Aug-25 | iKhokha | | iKhokha is a Durban-headquartered fintech company providing card payment terminals to small merchants in South Africa. Its countertop and mobile devices support contactless payments, Masterpass integration, and cash advances. Backed by Capital Eye, iKhokha processes transactions for retailers in townships and urban areas. | Nedbank Group | $93M | - | |
Feb-26 | Pay At Services | | Pay At Services is a South Africa-based provider of mobile payment solutions including cards, apps, QR codes, and in-store software for businesses. | Araxi | $63M | 0.2x | |
Jun-25 | Bank Zero | | Bank Zero is a digital-only bank headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It offers fee-free checking accounts, savings, loans, and payments via a mobile app to individual and business customers. Launched in 2020, the neobank emphasizes real-time notifications and budgeting tools. | Lesaka Technologies | $60M | 2.7x | |
Dec-25 | walletDoc | | walletDoc is a South African bill payment platform enabling secure, notification-driven payments to major billers without manual details. | Capitec Bank | $24M | - | |
Mar-26 | MySky Networks | | MySky Networks offers managed network operations, infrastructure, and software services including guest WiFi analytics, people counters for venues like malls and hotels, and cloud-based VoIP solutions. | iOCO | $3.2M | - | |
May-26 | zanode.co.za | | zanode.co.za is a South African application hosting platform. The service provides GitHub-based deployments, managed PostgreSQL, automatic SSL, and usage-based pricing for local developers and agencies. | HOSTAFRICA | - | - | |
Apr-26 | Absolute Hosting | | Absolute Hosting is a web hosting provider that offers NVMe WordPress hosting, cPanel hosting, VPS servers, and domain registration. | Axxess | - | - | |
Apr-26 | Response BPO | | Response BPO is a healthcare BPO and telehealth provider handling patient scheduling, front-office tasks, medical billing, coding, records, and engagement. | Carenet Healthcare Services | - | - | |
Apr-26 | Visiosoft | | Visiosoft is an IT services and consulting firm that offers a sensor device for analysis. | Sentiv | - | - | |
Mar-26 | Clarence AI | | Clarence AI is an AI-powered social media operations platform for government agencies and large organizations. It manages multi-channel communications, monitors sentiment, and automates responses. | Ascent Africa | - | - | |
Mar-26 | Onlinepethealth | | Onlinepethealth is an online platform offering continuing education for veterinary rehabilitation professionals. Resources include monthly webinars, podcasts, research summaries, and a community forum. | Paw Prosper | - | - | |
Mar-26 | Skynamo | | Skynamo is a Stellenbosch-based field sales management platform used by 500 distributors in consumer goods across Africa and the Middle East. It enables mobile order capture, route optimization, and real-time analytics to boost sales productivity by 30 percent. Founded in 2012, Skynamo integrates with ERP systems like SAP. | Klipboard | - | - | |
Jan-26 | Booksite | | Booksite is a Johannesburg-based distributor supplying books across fiction, non-fiction, and education genres in South Africa. It offers online ordering, recommendations, and discounted resources for institutions. | Ata Capital | - | - |
Who is buying tech companies in South Africa?
HOSTAFRICA, Integrity360 and Lesaka Technologies are the most active acquirers in South Africa.
See all acquirers in South Africa| Logo | HQ | Description | Key acquisitions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HOSTAFRICA | | HOSTAFRICA is a web hosting provider based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It supplies SSD-based shared hosting, reseller plans, VPS, and dedicated servers with NVMe storage and LiteSpeed servers. The company guarantees 99.9% uptime from Tier 3 data centers in South Africa and London, serving clients with cPanel management and free migrations. | zanode.co.zaWeb4AfricaHOSTAFRICA+1 | 2 | |
Integrity360 | | Integrity360 is an IT security services provider headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company serves 300 enterprise clients across finance and pharma with managed detection via its 24/7 SOC in Dublin and London, penetration testing uncovering 5,000 vulnerabilities annually, and GRC consulting compliant with GDPR and PCI-DSS. | RedshiftNcloseAdvantus360+1 | 2 | |
Lesaka Technologies | | Lesaka Technologies Inc provides payment solutions, transaction processing solutions, and financial technologies. The company operates three reportable segments: Merchant, Consumer and Enterprise. Merchant, which focuses on both formal and informal sector merchants. Consumer, which focuses on individuals who have historically been excluded from traditional financial services and to whom it offers transactional accounts (banking), insurance, lending (short-term loans), payments solutions and various value-added services; and Enterprise, which comprises large-scale corporate and government organizations, including but not limited to banks, mobile network operators (MNOs) and municipalities, and, through Recharger, landlords utilizing Recharger's prepaid electricity metering solution. | Bank ZeroAdumoMobilemart+1 | 2 | |
Araxi | | Araxi Ltd, Formerly Capital Appreciation Ltd is a South Africa based is a holding company with investments in businesses which operating in the Fintech and Financial Services Sector. The company operates in three segments: Payments and Payment Infrastructure and Services (Payments); Software and Services (Software); and International segment.. | Pay At ServicesDarielSynthesis Software Technologies | 1 | |
Abingdon Software Group | | Abingdon Software Group is a London-headquartered developer of embedded software for automotive, aerospace, and industrial sectors. Solutions include AUTOSAR-compliant stacks, real-time operating systems, and cybersecurity modules for ECUs and gateways. The group supports digital transformation through middleware for software-defined vehicles and IoT devices. | Best SAPPestScandcs plus | 1 | |
Stitch | | Stitch is a Cape Town-headquartered fintech that equips businesses with payment infrastructure to integrate into Africa's financial ecosystem. Launched in February 2021, the company operates as a licensed payments service provider across South Africa and beyond, supporting card payments, instant EFT, SnapScan, and Mobicred for seamless pay-ins. Its platform also facilitates payouts to over 50 banks and handles financial management tools like virtual accounts. Stitch serves e-commerce merchants, subscription services, and gig platforms with fraud prevention and reconciliation features, backed by a remote workforce spanning multiple continents. | Efficacy PaymentsExiPay | 1 | |
VMLY&R | | VMLY&R is a global creative agency under WPP headquartered in New York. Formed by the 2018 merger of VML and Y&R, it delivers integrated advertising, brand strategy, and digital experiences for clients including Colgate-Palmolive and Dell Technologies. With 20,000 employees across 50 countries, the agency combines data, technology, and creativity to solve business challenges. Offices span Kansas City, London, Shanghai, and São Paulo for comprehensive campaign execution. | Yonder MediaObviouslyRockfish+1 | 1 | |
Capitec Bank | | Capitec Bank Holdings Ltd is a retail bank with more than 850 branches in South Africa. Its services focus on three customer needs: saving, which provides customers the ability to receive and store funds; credit, which satisfies customer needs to access and borrow funds; and transacting, which allows for payments and movement of funds. It operates in three segments: Retail bank, Business bank, and the Insurance business. Net interest income accounts for more than two-thirds of total company revenue. The company's operating segments are: Personal banking, Business banking, the Insurance business and AvaFin. | walletDoc | 1 | |
Admyt | | Admyt is a smart parking solution using license plate recognition in Vienna. Deployed in garages across Austria and Germany, it eliminates tickets and barriers for frictionless entry-exit. Property owners access dashboards for occupancy analytics, revenue tracking, and dynamic pricing in shopping centers and office complexes. | SHôPING | 1 | |
Street Wallet | | Street Wallet is a Johannesburg-based fintech company serving informal traders and small businesses in South Africa. The platform offers digital payments, invoicing, and lending via mobile app to township merchants. Street Wallet processes transactions for 100,000 users in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. | Digitip | 1 |
Public tech companies in South Africa
Naspers is South Africa's largest publicly listed tech company, with a market cap of $41B.
See all public companies in South Africa| Logo | Description | Sectors | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Naspers | Naspers Ltd is an Internet and entertainment group and technology investor in the world. Operating in more than 120 countries and markets with long-term growth potential, Naspers builds companies that empower people and enrich communities. It runs some of the platforms in the internet, video entertainment, and media. Naspers operates in various sectors including online classifieds, food delivery, payments, travel, education, health, and social and internet platforms. People use products and services of companies that Naspers has invested in, acquired, or built, including Azos, PharmEasy, ElasticRun, Alwans, and Vegrow among others. Geographically, the company derives maximum revenue from Europe and the rest from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America, and other regions. | $53.85 | -12.9% | $41B | $36B | 3.4x | ||
Karooooo | Karooooo Ltd is a provider of real-time mobility data analytics solutions for smart transportation. It offers a comprehensive, cloud-based smart mobility platform for connected vehicles and other assets. The company's software-as-a-service platform provides customers with differentiated insights and analytics to optimize business and workforce, increase efficiency and decrease costs, improve safety, monitor environmental impact, assist with regularity compliance, and manage risk. The segments of the group are Cartrack; Carzuka; and Karooooo Logistics, of which key revenue is derived from the Cartrack segment. | $46.51 | -16.2% | $1.4B | $1.4B | 4.1x | ||
Datatec | Datatec Ltd is an international information and communications technology solutions company. The company's portfolio of businesses is split into three core divisions: Westcon International: Technology distribution of security and networking products, Logicalis International: ICT infrastructure solutions and services and Logicalis Latin America: ICT infrastructure solutions and services. Technology distribution, which offers services related to cyber security and network infrastructure, contributes the majority of the firm's revenue. | $5.01 | +32.9% | $1.2B | $1.3B | - | ||
WeBuyCars | We Buy Cars Holding Ltd is an automotive retailer focused on buying, reconditioning, and retail sales through both physical supermarkets and its digital platforms. The company's two reportable segments are: i) Buyer, distributor and retailer of pre-owned motor vehicles with the attendant sale of finance and insurance products and other ancillary products. ii) Property rental: Rental of warehouses to group companies. The majority of the company's revenue is derived from the Buyer, distributor and retailer of pre-owned motor vehicles segment. | $2.12 | -27.6% | $888M | $1.0B | 0.6x | ||
Altron | Altron Ltd provides integrated ICT solutions to businesses, governments, and consumers. Its segments are Digital Transformation, Managed Services, and Own Platforms. It has a direct presence in South Africa, the rest of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Key revenue of the group is derived from the local market in South Africa. | $1.40 | -0.8% | $537M | $578M | 1.0x | ||
Lesaka Technologies | Lesaka Technologies Inc provides payment solutions, transaction processing solutions, and financial technologies. The company operates three reportable segments: Merchant, Consumer and Enterprise. Merchant, which focuses on both formal and informal sector merchants. Consumer, which focuses on individuals who have historically been excluded from traditional financial services and to whom it offers transactional accounts (banking), insurance, lending (short-term loans), payments solutions and various value-added services; and Enterprise, which comprises large-scale corporate and government organizations, including but not limited to banks, mobile network operators (MNOs) and municipalities, and, through Recharger, landlords utilizing Recharger's prepaid electricity metering solution. | $4.97 | +17.2% | $426M | $583M | 0.3x |
Why Flow Partners as your M&A advisor
Access to relevant buyers
We have extensive network and direct access to world's most prominent financial and strategic buyers, cultivated through years of successful M&A track record across bulge bracket investment banking.
No corporate red tape
We run lean deal processes, without BS, unnecessary time-wasting efforts and corporate inefficiencies. Our approach values candor, transparency and high-impact work to make sure great deals get done.
Thorough preparation
KPI-driven storytelling is more art than science. We have unmatched understanding of digital businesses and are experts in building sharp equity stories that present your business in a clear, concise manner.
Optimize value, not valuation
Valuation is only one side of the medal. We help creating attractive and efficient transaction structures that bridge incentive gaps between sellers, buyers and management teams.
We provide M&A advisory services across South Africa and beyond
Sector expertise
Explore our M&A advisory offering across a variety of tech sectors in South Africa.
Software
Vertical and horizontal SaaS, AI-native software products, infrastructure SaaS, cybersecurity
AI & ML
Foundation models, AI applications, AI infrastructure, semiconductors, AI consulting
Fintech
Neobanking, online payments, fintech infrastructure, lending platforms, wealth tech, online brokerage, vertical FS software
Consumer internet
Consumer software subscription platforms, edutech, online content, social networks, online dating
Digital media
Streaming platforms, mobile and console gaming, content distribution, digital publishing, VR & AR
E-commerce & marketplaces
Consumer and B2B marketplaces, inventory-based e-commerce, classifieds, lead generation platforms
Consumer products
Direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, consumer electronics, smart home devices, lifestyle products
Mobility
Ridesharing, micromobility, food delivery, logistics tech, autonomous tech, EV charging infrastructure
Digital health
Digital therapeutics, telemedicine, mental health solutions, EHR and practice management, vertical healthcare SaaS
Industrial technology
Industry 4.0 solutions, 3D printing, climate tech, industrial IoT, robotics, smart manufacturing
Digital infrastructure
Data centers, cloud infrastructure, edge computing, network security, vertical infrastructure SaaS
IT services
Software development and testing, digital transformation, cloud services, advertising agencies, IT support services
Selected case studies
We've closed sell-side and buy-side transactions across European, US and emerging-market tech.
Our M&A track record spans strategic exits to corporate acquirers, PE buyouts, and cross-border deals where regulatory and structuring complexity actually matters.
We acted as exclusive sell-side advisor to MAILINGWORK, a Chemnitz-based email marketing software platform, on its sale to French digital marketing leader Positive Group.
Recently completed M&A advisory projects
Selected M&A transactions and prior deal experience.
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