To help reach that goal, Indian private equity firm Sage Capital announced last week that it is looking to raise $1 billion to target opportunities in the GCC, India and Africa. While details on what proportion of the planned fund would be allocated to opportunities in Africa were not reported, the firm's Managing Partner tells Gulf News that the continent's technology sector offers some "very exciting investment prospects."  It's expected that the fund will roll out in the second half of the year. 

 

In deal news last week, Sahel Capital made its first investment from its $100 million FAFIN fund by taking a 25% stake in Nigerian dairy producer and processor L&Z Integrated Farms.  The capital will be used to expand the firm's production and processing capacity. Meanwhile sources told Bloomberg that Actis is preparing to sell its stake in Actom.  The deal could value the electrical engineering firm at more than $1 billion.  In other exits, a consortium including Brimstone and Capitalworks realized a $24.5 million exit through the sale of the diagnostics business of The Scientific Group to South African healthcare company Ascendis. The deal is Ascendis's third medical device acquisition in the last 12 months. And in Kenya, Centum Investment agreed to sell its stake in regional insurance company UAP Holdings to Old Mutual. The deal is the latest in Old Mutual's planned $500 million programme to acquire businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. 

 

Throughout the week last week, a number of countries announced their intentions to tap the credit markets during 2015 to help fund the mountain of planned infrastructure development projects. Tanzania topped the rankings with plans to issue a Eurobond in March to fund up to $1 billion in infrastructure upgrades. Cameroon will be raising $582 million through the sales of treasury bills and medium term notes. And Ghana, looking to restructure its debt to longer term maturities plans on issuing a $120 million 7-year bond in April. It'll be interesting to see what it'll take for then to raise the funds given the retreat in commodity prices and expected tightening by the US Federal Reserve. 

 

To wrap up, a number of nuggets for everyone to chew on.  According to Mergermarket

deal activity in the Middle East and Africa bucked the trend in the fourth quarter of last year, jumping 158% from the third quarter.  The momentum promises to carry through to this year.  There were a number of interesting perspective pieces published last week, from a guest post by Standard Bank's David Humphrey on the wall of money waiting to invest in bankable infrastructure projects, USAID's Andrew Herscowitz on the evolving relationship between the development and financial worlds to David Munnich and

Hugues Vincent-Genod of I&P on sustainable investment models for Africa's SMEs.

 

Sources tell Bloomberg that private equity firm Actis is exploring the possibility of a sale of its 38% stake in South African electrical engineering firm Actom.  Any deal would take place in the first half of the year, and could value the firm at more than $1 billion.

In its third medical device deal in the last 12 months, South African healthcare company Ascendis has acquired the diagnostics business of The Scientific Group in a $24.5 million cash and share deal from a consortium that includes investors Brimstone Investment Corporation and Capitalworks.

In taking a 25% stake in dairy producer and processor L&Z Integrated Farms, Sahel Capital will be making its first investment from its $100 million Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria (FAFIN). The capital will be used to expand the company's production and processing capacity.  As part of the deal, Sahel Capital will take 2 board seats.  

Kenya's Centum Investment Company has agreed to sell its 13.75% stake in regional insurance firm UAP Holdings to Old Mutual. The deal is the latest in a series of deals undertaken by Old Mutual as it continues to invest in sub-Saharan Africa.  In a separate deal, investor and board director Chris Kirubi has agreed to sell his 9.58% UAP stake to Old Mutual.  Terms for either deal were not reported.. 

Britam has acquired a 24.7% stake in Kenyan mortgage financing company Housing Finance Company of Kenya from Equity Group Holdings in a $31 million deal.  The deal expands Britam's ownership in the firm to a little over 46%. Pacifis Advisory and Coulson Harney advised Britam on the deal while CfC Stanbic and Anjarwalla & Khanna advised Equity Bank.

Turkey's Bank Asya is selling its 40% stake in Tameel Africa Holdings to Saudi Arabian development institution, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector or ICD in a $37.7 million deal.  Tameel Africa is based in Senegal and promotes Islamic Finance in sub-Saharan Africa. 

Murray Grant returns to CDC from Actis to head up its Africa Funds business.  While the announcement was originally made a couple of month's ago, he starts his role this month.

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The Nairobi Securities Exchange has named Geoffrey "Jeff" Otieno Odundo to be the new Chief Executive Officer, replacing Peter Mwangi who left in November to become the CEO of Old Mutual Kenya.  Mr. Odundo will start in his new role in March 2015.

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Georgette Kiser has been appointed to the position of Chief Information Officer at The Carlyle Group.  She comes to the firm having spent almost 20 years at investment management firm.  She will be start in February 2015 in Washington DC.

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We hope you found the digest to be a useful summary of the major happenings in Africa's private capital markets last week.  We'd love it if you shared it with colleagues and business partners.  They can sign up for free here.  

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