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A selection of African private equity deal, fundraising and exit announcements that came across our desk in December 2020.

Deals

EXEO Capital, a pan-African private equity investment manager, has announced the investment by its food and agribusiness fund, Agri-Vie Fund II, in Glacier Products Limited – the producer of Kenyan ice-cream and chocolate brand Dairyland.

Private equity manager Inside Capital Partners made a $3.1 million investment in the Mauritian recyclable waste collector company WeCycle.

Helios Investment Partners partnered with BİM BİRLEŞİK MAĞAZALAR (BIM), the leading discount grocery retailer in Turkey listed on the Borsa İstanbul, to invest in BIM’s Moroccan business (BIM Morocco) through the acquisition of a 35% stake, valuing the company at over $200 million.

InQuba, a world-leader in customer journey management, has secured expansion capital from venture capital firm Knife Capital and African corporate and investment bank Rand Merchant Bank.

Ilara Health – a healthtech startup focused on bringing essential, affordable and life-saving diagnostics to African consumers – has raised $3.75 million in series A funding led by TLcom Capital, with participation from DOB Equity, Global Ventures and Chandaria Capital.

Inspired Evolution led a $35 million equity investment by its Evolution II Fund and co-investors, Norfund and Sagemcom, to establish and finance ESCOTEL, an energy services company currently focused on sub-Saharan Africa countries. Evolution II has committed $20 million alongside $10 million from Norfund and $5 million from Sagemcom Energy & Telecom, which will also act as equipment supplier, EPC contractor and O&M provider to ESCOTEL.

Fundraising

The African Development Bank’s board of directors approved $15 million from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) and $10 million from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to advance African Renewable Energy Fund (AREF) II’s projects to boost low-carbon energy generation in sub-Saharan Africa. AREF II is targeting a $300 million market capitalisation and will be managed by Berkeley Energy.

The European Investment Bank is considering an equity investment of up to $18 million in the Convergence Partners Digital Fund III, managed by Convergence Partners. The fund has a target size of $250 million and is focused on high-growth digital infrastructure companies throughout Africa.

Amethis MENA Fund II is awaiting approval of an equity investment of up to €20 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The targeted fund size is €150 million. EBRD’s participation in the fund will enable it to achieve a first closing. The fund will seek to achieve long-term capital growth by making equity and equity-linked investments, predominantly in small and medium-sized companies in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan.

STANLIB has raised R5.5 billion (about $370.2 million) from a wide range of prominent South African investors for the STANLIB Infrastructure Fund II, launched in June this year. The fund will have a fourth and final close in February 2021 where it is aiming to raise a further R2.4 billion (about $161.6 million). The fund will invest mainly in South African post-construction infrastructure projects but also has the capacity to invest in greenfield projects and aims to generate a real return that is correlated with CPI for investors.

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), one of Africa’s largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers, completed a capital increase of $80 million for its flagship pan-African infrastructure fund, AIIF3. The capital increase takes the total commitments for AIIF3 to $400 million and represents one of the largest capital raises closed for an African fund since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. AIIF3 achieved first close in May 2017 with four subsequent closes concluded before a final close in May 2019. The capital increase was open to existing LPs and closed in mid-November 2020.

Exits

Egypt-based private equity firm B Investments has entered into an agreement to sell 20% of its stake in Total Egypt to Total Outre-Mer for a total consideration of approximately EGP 146 million (about $9.3 million). In 2013, B Investments acquired 7.97% of Total Egypt through a capital increase which supported the company to increase its retail gas stations from 70 stations in 2013 to 240 stations in 2020.

TLG Capital exited its investment in BAJ Stations Uganda, after nearly four years, at 30%-plus IRR in USD. TLG invested in BAJ Stations through its Credit Opportunities Fund (COF). This is COF’s eighth exit and its third in Uganda. TLG first invested in BAJ in 2017 when the business had five operating fuel stations.

Criterion Africa Partners, a private equity firm investing in the forestry sector in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced that its portfolio company Global Woods has completed the sale of its Uganda timber plantation to Nile Fibreboard, a local strategic buyer.

Investment holding company Ethos Capital, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has sold a 1.4% stake in Channel VAS, a provider of airtime credit services and mobile financial solutions across 28 countries in Africa. Ethos Capital sold the stake at a consideration of $5 million (R76.6 million). The sale consideration has valued Ethos Capital’s stake in Channel VAS at $36.7 million (a 16% premium to the valuation as at 30 June 2020). Over the two-year hold period, this partial realisation delivered in ZAR a money back multiple of 1.6x and an IRR of 27%. Post the transaction, Ethos Capital will retain an aggregate stake of 8.89% in Channel VAS with a valuation (based on the transaction value) of $31.7 million.