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Fri, Mar

Zinox Eyes Jumia Takeover, After Owning Konga

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Zinox Group who acquired Konga in 2018 are now positioning itself to acquire one of Africa's major e-commerce players, Jumia after its shares fell below 12% on Wednesday to $4.78 from a record high of $59.96 as investors flee tech stocks amidst a market sell-off that has engulfed US Stocks.

Jumia had IPOed in April 2019, when it listed on the New York Stock Exchange at a share price of $14.5 and rose to as high as $65 in February of 2021, valuing it at about $6.2 billion at the time.

The e-commerce company's shares began to plummet two weeks after, a damning report by Andrew Left, founder of Citron Research had accused the company of fraud, describing its stock as worthless. Specifically, the report had highlighted discrepancies in financials between investor presentations and SEC filings by Jumia, accusing its management of fraudulently inflating order numbers, while also labelling it a company burdened with inefficiencies.

The company has however denied any wrongdoing, and in a class-action lawsuit, settled out of court for $5 million.

With the current debacle Jumia is facing, reports indicate that the Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, is ramping up shares in Jumia indirectly for a possible acquisition.

Ekeh, who had acquired Yes Mobile, a cosmopolitan high-value retail outfit, Ashour Corporation, and Konga another e-commerce player is now looking to add Jumia to its coffers with a view of merging Konga and Jumia, thereby extending its reach.

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