The
weekly roundup of Africa's Private Capital news
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Here's this week's wrap of the most interesting Africa-related private equity, infrastructure and venture capital deal stories, market opinion articles and information pieces for our review. Thank you for being a reader and we hope you continue to find the newsletter useful.
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This week's issue supported by...
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The week in brief...
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Mediterrania Capital Partners continues to deploy capital from its second North Africa-focused fund which closed in August this year. Last week saw the announcement that it has taken a 23% stake in
Societe Meuniere Tunisienne,
manufacturers and
distributers
of Randa, one of Tunisia' s leading pasta brands. The capital infusion will be used to extend the company's product range to to meet customer demand as well as set up frameworks for international expansion.
In other private equity investment news, Sun European Partners' deal to acquire Finlays Horticulture from James Finlay Ltd. gives Sun some African assets. With operations in Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania, the company is the largest producer and exporter of fresh produce and flowers from Africa to Europe. Meanwhile, Paris-headquartered Amethis Finance announced the close of its third debt investment last week in which it had made a commitment of $15 million to a $75 million syndicated subordinated term loan for Ecobank Nigeria. The lead arranger for the deal was Dutch DFI, FMO with additional commitments from DEG and Swedfund.
Bloomberg had a couple of interesting reports this week. In the first,
Investec's private equity business is planning to exit two of the seven investments it holds through its $155 million Africa Private Equity Fund. Neither details of the assets in question nor the timeline for the disposals were disclosed. And in the second,
Old Mutual's private equity group is making investments in two consumer-facing businesses this month. The first, a $23 million deal in an as yet unnamed company, was agreed last week. The second deal is expected to be similar in size. We'll have to wait for more details in both these instances.
The Nigerian investment opportunity continues to attract interest. Silicon Valley-based venture capital investor
500 Startups is looking to add two Nigerian tech companies to its portfolio of Africa investments over the next 12 months. Any such investments would be the firm's first in the continent's largest economy. The venture investor already has 10 investments in Africa in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
And finally for this week's summary, there were a number of high profile appointments in the news. The most significant was the nomination of Okey Enelamah, African Captial Alliance's founder and CEO, to a post in President Buhari's cabinet. His nomination will have to be approved by Nigeria's Upper House. Meanwhile, in the latest "Africa move" by TPG, Yemi Lalude, the founder of Adlevo Capital has joined the global private investment firm as Managing Partner for Africa. He'll be responsoble for leading the firms investments in Africa in coordination with Satya Capital, a partnership you may remember being announced in June this year.
As with every week, you can review these and other stories by
scrolling
down and reviewing the headlines, abstracts and links.
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Sun European Partners acquire African assets as part of Finlays Horticulture deal
Image Credit: The Times |
Private Equity
Mediterrania Capital Partners announced last week that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 23% stake in Société Meunière Tunisienne (SMT), manufacturers and distributers of Randa, one of Tunisia' s leading pasta brands. Terms of the deal, which is being transacted through Mediterrania's second North Africa-focused fund which closed with €120 million in August this year, were not disclosed.
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Private Equity
Sun European Partners, adviser to U.S. private Equity firm Sun Capital, has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of Finlays Horticulture from James Finlay Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Finlays Horticulture is the largest, vertically-integrated producer and exporter of fresh produce and flowers from Africa to Europe, with operations in Kenya, South African and Tanzania.
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Private Equity
Amethis Finance announced the close of its third debt investment last week. The Paris-based private equity firm participated in a FMO-led consortium, committing $15 million to a $75 million syndicated subordinated term loan for Ecobank Nigeria. The deal was originally signed in July and was subject to regulatory approval which has now been received, allowing the transaction to close.
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Private Equity
Phatisa's Pan Africa Housing Fund (PAHF) has agreed to back the development of a 300-unit residential housing complex in Kigali in partnership with Kigali Batsinda Estate Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Once completed, the Izuba City development will offer a mix of affordable housing to the Rwandan's capital's burgeoning middle class, from one-bedroom starter homes to three-bedroom family homes.
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Private Equity
Vumatel and Investec concluded a deal last week which sees the specialist bank and asset manager take a minority equity stake in the fibre service provider. Details of the size and value of the stake were not disclosed. The capital will be used by Vumatel to accelerate the roll out of its fibre-to-the-home service across more communities in South Africa.
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Venture Capital
EchoVC Partners, the seed and early-stage technology investor, is backing Nigeria-based digital printing start-up Printivo in an undisclosed "six figure investment". The capital will be used to broaden the company's product range, increase employee head count, grow the company's customer base and scale the business further.
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Private Equity
Business Partners launches $23mln Green fund
Business Partners is launching a $23 million Green Fund to invest in sustainable businesses that aim to have a positive effect on the environment while creating wealth and employment. The South African risk financier will look to provide companies with expansion capital, startup funding and property finance in deal size amount of up to $2.3 million.
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Sovereign Debt
Namibia to pitch Eurobond issue to U.S investors
Officials from Namibia are setting off on a U.S. roadshow this coming week to pitch its first Eurobond sale since 2011. A European roadshow will follow, an investor source told Bloomberg. The bond will be used to boost reserves, finance infrastructure projects and fund education initiatives. Yields on the country's $500 million bond which comes due in 2021 are lower than any other country in sub-Saharan Africa barring South Africa.
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This week's issue supported by...
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AfCD's 2016 Guide to sub-Saharan Private Equity
"The must-have reference and planning resource for investors and their advisers exploring the private equity investment opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa."
Order Africa Capital Digest's
2016 Guide to sub-Saharan Private Equity today at the pre-publication discount and add the most comprehensive, up-to-date source of information on the leading fund managers located in the African subcontinent. Benefit from:
- Profiles with Names, Emails of each firm's investment professionals
- Details of active funds, preferred deal sizes, regional and sector preferences
- Information on current portfolio companies and projects
- Headquarter and Regional Office contact details
- Expert insight on fund raising, due diligence, execution and exits
- Quick reference indexes of fund managers and portfolio companies by sector
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Projects & Portfolio Companies...
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Private Equity
Java House, the Kenyan Coffee House and Restaurant brand which is 90%-owned by Emerging Capital Partners is planning to expand across the continent in the next 5 years to capitalize on the rise in consumer spending. With 36 coffee houses in Kenya and Uganda, the firm plans to open outlets in Kigali, Accra, Dar es Salaam, Lagos and Lusaka.
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Private Equity
Centum Investments, the Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed investment company, is injecting an additional $11.7 million into one of its holdings, commercial bank K-Rep, via a pro rata participation in the bank's current rights issue. Full participation is expected from other shareholders in the $16.8 million rights issue, which was approved in July in order to boost shareholder funds by 65%.
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Private Equity
The private equity unit of Investec's asset management arm has set plans in motion to exit two of its investments held through its $155 million Africa Private Equity Fund. The move comes as a response to the downward pressure being exerted on some economies by the commodity slump. Details of the assets or a timeline for the disposals were not disclosed.
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Private Equity
Supermarket chain Choppies is planning to open about 30 new stores over the next 12 months in Botswana, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe by pursuing an organic growth strategy complemented by possible acquisitions. It will also look at launching in the Kenyan and Tanzanian markets as it seeks to increase its market share in sub-Saharan Africa. In January, Standard Chartered Private Equity acquired a 13% stake in the company, which also held a secondary listing on the JSE in May.
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Strategies - Private Equity
Switzerland-based private equity firm Quantum Global has earmarked $50 million which it is keen to put to work across a number of sectors in Nigeria including agriculture, power and hospitality, according to Franck Alain Behiblo, the firm's Head of Corporate Development in an interview with media outlet Vanguard.
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Strategies - Private Equity
Old Mutual's private equity unit is making two $20 million to $25 million investments in consumer-facing businesses this month in a bet that high-end spending will be resilient in the face of South Africa's contracting economy. Bloomberg reports that the insurer agreed to a $23 million investment in an unnamed company last week, and has plans to execute a similar transaction before the end of the month.
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Strategies - Venture Capital
Silicon Valley venture capital firm 500 Startups is looking to make investments in one or two Nigerian technology companies over the next 12 months as the country's large population and increasing access to technology and payments make for an attractive market. The U.S. investor already has ten investments on the continent in markets including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
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Trends - IPO Markets
In spite of the worries plaguing South Africa's economy, the IPO market seems to be on a roll. According to Bloomberg data, the number of IPOs that have been brought to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2015 is the highest since 2007, with values climbing to the highest since the peak set in 2010.
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Trends - Private Equity
ODI finds international private equity SSA investments top $12bln
// reuters.com
Investments by international private equity managers in sub-Saharan Africa has increased five-fold since 2008, and now accounts for $12 billion or 20% annually of cross-border investments, according to a working paper released by Britain's Overseas Development Institute. One result is that the region is suffering from a capital overhang due to the difficulty of finding suitable investments.
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Trends - Venture Capital
Last week, SAVCA, South Africa's venture capital and private equity industry association released the findings of
its latest survey which studies VC-type transactions that took place in the country between January 2011 and July 2015. Among the key findings were as the amount of capital investment is bouncing back from 2013 lows, the average size of deals is shrinking, primarily because new technology companies need less money to start.
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| Companies, People & Profiles... |
Company News
At the very end of last week, I&M Holdings announced that they are acquiring a 65% stake in corporate finance advisory firm Burbidge Capital. By the look of things, no further financial terms of the deal have been disclosed. The company, which was founded in 2010, has offices in Nairobi, Kampala and London and provides clients with advice on transactions across sub-Saharan Africa.
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People News
The head of African Capital Alliance, Nigeria's largest private equity firm, has been nominated to be a member of President Buhari's cabinet. Enelamah, the founder and CEO of ACA which has raised $750 million in managed funds since 1997, is one of a number of technocrats tapped for a cabinet post by the President who was elected in March. Ministerial portfolios will be assigned once nominations have been approved by the country's Upper House.
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People News
In the latest "Africa move" by TPG, Yemi Lalude, the founder of Adlevo Capital has joined the global private investment firm as Managing Partner for Africa. He will be leading the TPG Growth's investments on the continent which will be coordinated through TPG/Satya, the partnership between TPG and Mo Ibrahim's Satya Capital which was agreed in June this year. According to TPG's website, he is based in London.
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People News
Ulisha Singh is joining African Infrastructure Investment Managers as Regional Head for East Africa to help spearhead the investment manager's strategy, source deal flow and originate investments in infrastructure projects and companies in the region.
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People News
Ted Manvitz, the Chief Investment Officer of IHS, Africa's largest mobile telecommunications tower operators, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of Fibersat, a new satellite operator focused on providing ultra-low cost broadband in Africa.
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Profile
As well as a recap of her career, this piece by Tom Jackson about Knife Capital partner Andrea Böhmert looks at some of the criteria she uses to evaluate potential investments, how the partner of the growth equity fund manager source deal flow and how they work with entrepreneurs to "scale-up" their businesses.
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Chief Executive at Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund
Based in Nairobi, Kenya
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Managing Director, Off-Grid Energy Fund at Acumen
Based in Nairobi, Kenya
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Senior Manager, Corporate Finance at Deloitte
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa
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Vice President for Africa-focused private equity firm
Based in London, UK
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Principal, Investment Facilitation at CrossBoundary
Based in Bamako, Mali
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Associate, Investment Facilitation at CrossB
oundary
Based in Bamako, Mali
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Energy Investment Associate at CrossBoundary
Based in Nairobi, Kenya
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Investment Director, Infrastructure at Sustainable Asset Manager
Based in Nairobi, Kenya
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Private Equity Analyst, Africa at Swicorp
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa
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Associate for Law firm's Infrastructure and Energy practice
Based in London, United Kingdom
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Analyst for Private Equity firm
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
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Partner for Africa Practice of Global Law firm
Based in London, UK
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Investment Director, Private Investments at Cambridge Associates
Based in London, UK
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Senior Associate, Private Equity at BDI
Based in Accra, Ghana
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Investment Associate for Africa-focused private equity
Based in London, UK
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Accra, December 1st to December 3rd, 2015
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Private Equity in Africa 2015
London, October 28th, 2015
Read more...
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Powering Africa: the Finance Options
Cape Town, November 5th to November 6th, 2015
Read more...
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Agrique Africa Investment Summit
Accra, November 17th to November 18th, 2015
Read more...
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African Finance & Investment Forum 2015
Cape Town, November 24th to November 26th, 2015
Read more...
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13th Annual African Capital Markets Conference
Cape Town, November 26th to November 27th, 2015
Read more...
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TMT Finance & Investment World 2015
London, December 1st, 2015
Read more...
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The Global African Investment Summit
London, December 1st to December 2nd, 2015
Read more...
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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.
Best wishes for a productive week - if you have any tips, suggestions, questions or comments, please get in touch.
All the best,
- Allan
Allan Cunningham
Editor & Publisher
AfCD | Africa Capital Digest
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