Last week in brief... African Infrastructure Investment Managers has completed a capital increase from existing LPs in a fund that closed in May last year. Between them, the LPs are committing an additional $80 million to the fund, African Infrastructure Investment Fund 3 or AIIF 3, lifting the total amount of capital raised to now total $400 million. The catalyst for the increase seems to be two new investments for the fund - one in the energy sector ad the other in a digital infrastructure opportunity - which will take place next year. Once completed, they'll be added to the 9 assets already in AIIF 3's portfolio.
Staying in the infrastructure space, Harith General Partners and Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers are taking minority stakes in Zimborders, a special entity set up to refurbish, rehabilitate and modernize the Zimbabwe Beitbridge Border Post, Southern Africa's busiest border crossing. border post. The investments help the $296 million project achieve financial close.
Actis-backed Honoris United Universities announced another deal last week, adding a fourteenth partner to its continent-wide network of education providers. This time, Honoris is taking a minority stake in ESPRIT Group, a Tunisian provider of STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, and Maths) education for students and pupils at all stages of the education cycle.
Last week saw a couple of "firsts" for a couple of private equity funds. Lorax Capital Partners announced the first investment for its second fund which held an initial close in October. The Egyptian private equity fund manager is backing DSQ Group, a loyalty and rewards provider, with an undisclosed amount of capital.
In South Africa meanwhile, Secha Capital Partners has made the first two investments for its new Secha Impact Fund which also held its initial close in October. Again, the fund is taking minority stakes in the businesses - Cultura Fresh and iG3N - which will both be closely guided by the Secha executives who led the deals, particularly over the next 12 months.
We report on some exit activity in this issue. In East Africa. Criterion Africa Partners has exited an investment it first made in 2015. The private equity investor is selling Global Woods, a Ugandan timber plantation, to a family-run business, Nile Fibreboard. The 8,500-hectare plantation grows pine and eucalypts for sawlogs and poles which are sold locally and more broadly within the region.
JSE-listed Ethos Capital is slightly trimming its stake in Channel VAS. The investment holding company is reducing its holding by 1.4%, earning itself $5 million in the process, which it will use to meet some existing debt obligations. According to Ethos, the partial sale has returned, in ZAR terms, a money back multiple of 1.6x and an IRR of 27%.
Climate Fund Managers have agreed to co-finance and co-develop a portfolio of solar-powered desalination projects in Kenya. The fund will invest up to $15 million in the installations which will be developed by Solar Water Services. Once operational it's estimated that the project will provide up to 400,000 people in the area with drinkable water.
In venture capital news, inQuba, a software business that helps companies better understand and manage their customers' buying "journey" has landed a round of expansion capital from Knife Capital and RMB. How much is being invested remains undisclosed, although it is said to be significant compared to other South African venture deals.
And finally, we end with three items of company and people move news. Obviam, the Swiss impact asset manager is merging with Asteria Investment Managers. The combination creates a unique player in the space, joining Obviam's private markets expertise with Asteria's position in more liquid impact investment markets. The merger is expected to be finalized by the end of next year.
Verod Capital has a new COO. Nieros Ogeyun Soerensen joins the Lagos-based private equity firm after spending 3 years at CDC Group where she headed The Africa List. She'll be responsible for Verod's daily operations as well as laying the foundations for the firm's next growth phase.
And AfrAsia Bank has a new Chairman for its board. Inderjit Bedi has been unanimously approved in the role following his nomination by the Board's corporate governance committee. He adds more than 30 years of industry experience to the 11-member board.
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
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