Last week in brief… In the week that saw the U.S. President arrive in Kenya, there were a number of pieces in different media outlets reviewing, and in most cases, reprising the investment case for Africa. One of the most interesting to our minds was a package of content that appeared in Financial Times Magazine looking at the economic and cultural revival that has shifted perception of sub-Saharan Africa from “…burden and basket case to a repository of talent, resources and opportunity.”
On the deal front, the biggest commitment came from a DFI last week. While in Kenya attending the Global Entrepreneurship Conference, OPIC's President & CEO Elizabeth Littlefield signed a $233 million debt commitment to finance the construction and operation of the Kipeto Wind Power Project situated in Kajiado, south of Nairobi. The project is being developed in partnership with African Infrastructure Investment Managers, the International Finance Corporation and Craftskills Wind Energy International.
In private equity deal news last week, Investec Asset Management made an investment in Intelligent Debt Management, South Africa's largest consumer debt management company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Meanwhile, The Zimbabwe Herald reports that Takura Capital is set to invest $33 million in Cairns Holdings by September this year, thereby completing its buyout of the Zimbabwean FMCG manufacturer. The capital will be used to pay off $25 million in debt and recapitalize the group as part of its recovery plan.
Kagiso Tiso Holdings, fresh from their recent Servest acquisition, have taken a significant minority stake in Nigerian healthcare diagnostics company, Me Cure Healthcare. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is the first institutional investment in Me Cure, and the capital will be used to expand the business, which KTH regards to be a key healthcare portfolio holding and one which it expects to grow its position in the healthcare sector alongside Me Cure’s founders.
Databank Agrifund Manager Limited has successfully closed its investment in Norish, one of Ethiopia’s largest producers of fortified blended foods and animal feed. The value of the deal was undisclosed, but in an emailed response, Databank confirmed that the transaction size was close to the fund’s upper limit of $4 million that it sets for individual investments. The funding was a 50/50 mix of equity and mezzanine financing. The funds will be used to buttress the company’s working capital and capital expenditure needs, as well as expand sales of its corn soya blend product to broader retail markets.
In fund raising news, Business Day reports that South African insurance giant Sanlam is teaming up with mining magnate Patrice Motsepe to launch a $500 million private equity fund. Jointly committing $200 million to get the fund raise started, they are looking to raise the balance from other investors by the beginning of next year. The fund will target deals across various sectors, including, obviously, mining and financial services.
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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