Milbank LLP Advised Channel VAS Investments Limited (Optasia) On Its Initial Public Offering And JSE Listing

Milbank LLP advised Channel VAS Investments Limited (Optasia) on its initial public offering and JSE listing

The major global law firm, Milbank LLP advised Channel VAS Investments Limited (trading as “Optasia”) on its initial public offering and listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The shares were priced at ZAR 19.00, at the top of the price range, raising gross proceeds of approximately ZAR 6.5 billion, assuming the exercise of the overallotment option, and valuing Optasia at approximately ZAR 23.5 billion. This transaction marks the largest IPO in Africa in 2025 and the largest fintech IPO in the EMEA region since 2021.

Concurrently, Milbank advised Optasia’s shareholders on the sale of a 20.1% stake in the company on a fully diluted basis to FirstRand Limited.

Optasia is a leading AI-enabled fintech platform providing micro-financing and airtime credit solutions. Its AI-powered financial services platform and credit decisioning algorithms analyze multiple customer data points to generate credit scoring and decisions, enabling instant access to financial solutions for millions of underbanked individuals across 38 countries in emerging markets across Africa and the Middle East.

The Milbank team was led by David Dixter (Partner, Corporate Finance & Securities), supported by Harshil Bansal (Associate) and Panos Tsezos (Associate). The team also included Andrew Walker (Partner, New York Tax) and Blake Rocks (Associate, New York Tax), Alan Rafferty (Partner, London Tax) and Lily Teh (Associate, London Tax), and Catherine Leef Martin (Partner, New York Alternative Investments).

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