Flutterwave Searches For Railsr

The embedded banking platform Railsr, which has been severely impacted by inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, cashflow concerns, and VC retreat, has been in the running to be acquired by African payments technology unicorn Flutterwave.

Flutterwave, which offers a variety of ways to allow businesses to collect payments both online and in-person, reached a $3 billion value on a $250 million financing in February of last year. The company stated at the time that it planned to utilize part of the capital to accelerate growth through M&A.

According to Sky News, which broke the story of Flutterwave’s interest in Railsr, the African firm is up against a consortium of many current Railsr investors.

At a sharply reduced value of $250 million, Railsr recently received a Series C round in the fall of last year, consisting of $26 million in equity and $20 million in debt. To bring it across the finish line for a potential sale, the investment was meant to serve as a bridge fundraising round.

The fintech was reportedly looking for a $100 million investment earlier this year, which would have catapulted it into the unicorn category.

In response to the worldwide market slump, the company, like other businesses in the industry, has reduced its workforce in recent months and scaled back its activities.

The company has hired FT Partners to arrange the transaction.