valU is a buy-now, pay-later platform in the Middle East and North Africa region. Credit: Jonas Leupe on Unsplash.

EFG Hermes’ subsidiary valU, a buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) platform in the MENA region, has agreed to divest a 4.99% interest to Saudi Arabia-based Alhokair Family for $12.4m.

The deal values valU, the largest BNPL provider in Egypt, at $247.4m.

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valU serves over 574,000 app clients in Egypt. It has more than 5,000 points of sale locations in its home country.

valU CEO Walid Hassouna said: “valU has definitely filled a financing gap in the Egyptian market and supported financial inclusion.

“The business model that we created strives to have a positive daily impact on hundreds of thousands of consumers, retailers, and service providers across the country.”

The transaction follows valU’s entry into the Saudi market via FAS Finance, a joint venture (JV) between FAS Labs and valU.

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FAS Labs owns a 65% stake in FAS Finance, while the remaining 35% stake is owned by valU.

In Saudi Arabia, valU services will be available in Alhokair’s retail network of over 1,000 stores, in addition to online on the VogaCloset and monobrand websites.

The service will also be expanded to other vendors, retail networks, and merchants to cover the complete Saudi market. 

EFG Hermes Holding Group CEO Karim Awad said: “We are proud to have grown a strong brand like valU that, since late 2017, has not only established itself as the leading BNPL platform but has also attracted the interest of the world’s largest retailer, Amazon, one of the most important brands globally, and now one of the region’s most prominent retail players, Alhokair.”

The deal is subject to relevant regulatory approvals and satisfaction of certain conditions.