Last week in brief...A couple of last week's deals were among the biggest, value-wise, that we've seen in recent months. As part of the reorganization of the Gabon Special Economic Zone, A.P. Moller Capital is making a sizable investment in ARISE Ports and Logistics, one of the companies emerging from the three-way split in Gabon Special Economic Zone’s operations. A.P. Moller’s $1 billion Africa Infrastructure Fund will hold a 43% stake in the business which consists of ports, trucking, warehouses, and rail services initially in Gabon, but eventually in Mauritania and Cote d'Ivoire.
In another large deal, African Rainbow Capital is planning to expand the size of its stake in Alexander Forbes as part of the South African financial services group's planned shareholder reorganization. ARC would acquire the shares owned by Mercer Africa, and once the reorganization completes, would hold a 33.9% stake in the firm.
Investisseurs & Partenaires is making two deals in Anglophone Africa, growing the predominantly francophone-focused impact investment firm's footprint further in the region. This time the two deals, which are being made via the $102 million IPAE II fund, are being transacted in Nigeria and Ghana. The first is in Rensource as part of its $20 million Series A round while the second is in New Crystal Health Services, a private Ghanaian healthcare business serving the market of urban poor.
Senatla Capital has been given the go-ahead to acquire one of South Africa's ad agency businesses on behalf of two of its funds. The proposed deal, which has now been given unconditional approval by the Competition Commission, would see the private equity firm buy out Joe Public United Holdings' owners via two of its funds, SCEF II and SCEF III.
In the venture space, Sendy has raised a significant Series B round from a group of investors led by Atlantica Ventures. Others committing to the round include Toyota Tsusho Corporation’s dedicated Africa-focused investment unit, Mobility 54, and Asia Africa Investment, Sunu Capital, Enza Capital, and Kepple Capital. Between them, they are investing $20 million in the app-based logistics business, helping it expand further on the continent, invest in new hires and technology research.
Last week, HAVAÍC announced a deal that it had completed at the end of last year. The Cape Town-based venture investor has backed Dukapay, which trades under the Tanda brand, with an undisclosed amount of capital, the deal being made in advance of a planned seed round currently being considered by a syndicate of other investors.
Tanda’s platform allows micro-retailers like duka owners to offer their customers a range of digital services including the ability to pay for airtime, prepay for electricity and settle other types of bills on these micro-retailers’ smartphones.
Fundraising news last week centered on venture capital. Lateral Capital announced the first close for its maiden fund, beating its original target. The Sub-Saharan Africa-focused fund has won commitments totaling $21 million from a mix of family offices and high net worth individuals from across the USA, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Ultimately, the fund is aiming to raise $50 million, with a $100 million hard cap, by its final close which is expected to take place this year.
Knife Capital is opening up its first Section 12J Venture Capital fund to new investors and planning to launch its successor this year. Having deployed most of the R180 million (about $12 million) raised for KNF Ventures in seven portfolio companies, the South Africa-based venture investor is offering new investors the opportunity to invest in the fund and benefit from additional upside of its existing portfolio holdings, as well presumably, from the upside of any new investments the fund might make.
Knife Capital also plans to launch KNF Ventures II, a successor to KNF Ventures, over the course of 2020. The amount to be raised has, as yet, not been disclosed, but its strategy will be to back Series B opportunities in South Africa.
That's it for this week. As always, you can review these and other stories by clicking through to this week's preview edition of the newsletter.
Allan Cunningham is a senior media executive who has spent the last 15 years of his career working for some of the world’s most respected M&A and Private Equity media companies including Dow Jones’s publications Private Equity Analyst and VentureWire and most recently, The Deal. He has built a number of successful digital and event content businesses, both subscription and sponsor-supported, delivering information and content-marketing services to clients in the M&A and broader deal ecosystem. He recently struck out on his own and launched Rowayton Press, a multi-platform media company focused on the private capital opportunities in emerging and frontier markets. Mr. Cunningham holds a Bachelors degree from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
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