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Silvertree Internet Holdings acquires Nigeria-based TopCheck

08 Feb 2017, 10:52 am
Financial Nigeria
Silvertree Internet Holdings acquires Nigeria-based TopCheck

News Highlight

- TopCheck offers free online price comparison for insurance products, loans, and broadband internet plans. 

Ryan Marx, CEO, Compare Africa Group and TopCheck

Silvertree Internet Holdings, a South African venture capital firm, has acquired TopCheck, Nigeria’s leading price comparison site for financial services. According to a statement released on Wednesday, the Cape Town-based company said it acquired TopCheck to leverage on the enormous potential in the price comparison space on the continent.

“We want to replicate the success of Check24 in the German financial services and insurance comparison space,” said Manuel Koser, Co-founder and Managing Director of Silvertree. “TopCheck joining our portfolio is another step in building Africa’s largest comparison conglomerate.”

TopCheck offers free online price comparison for insurance products, loans, and broadband internet plans. The website recorded fast growth in 2016, processing up to N3 billion in gross applications value per month. Headquartered in Lagos and Berlin, the site was founded in 2014 by three European entrepreneurs, Christian Wiesner, Jose Figueiredo, and Thomas Pilar. The start-up raised €1 million in venture capital in 2015.

“The TopCheck team is excited to join forces with Compare Africa Group. Together, we are forming Africa’s undisputed leader in price comparison”, said Thomas Pilar, TopCheck co-founder and CEO. “While our two companies had been competitors before, our strategies are completely in line: to be the number one online destination to acquire financial services in Africa. With TopCheck’s market position in Nigeria, and Silvertree’s wide reach throughout Africa, we look forward to further accelerating the company’s growth across the continent.”

Silvertree owns and operates several Internet assets across Africa. TopCheck will join Compare Africa Group (CAG) – a Silvertree subsidiary – which is active in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, offering online price comparison of goods and services through various websites. CAG owns financial services websites Compareguru (Compareguru.co.za), as well as product comparison site PriceCheck (PriceCheck.co.za), which was recently acquired from Naspers. Silvertree has also been very active in acquiring Nigerian tech companies, having taken over insured.ng in 2015 from Jason Njoku’s Spark.ng and Dealdey from Kinnevik last year.

With the acquisition of TopCheck, Silvertree said Wiesner and Pilar will step aside as Managing Directors, but will continue to work with CAG as advisors. Ryan Marx, CAG’s MD, will be heading TopCheck with immediate effect, Silvertreee said.

“I am very happy that Christian and Thomas will continue to advise Compare Africa Group with their vast expertise in the Nigerian financial sector,” Marx said.


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