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A selection of African private equity deal, fundraising and exit announcements that came across our desk in July 2021.

Deals

African Development Partners II, a fund advised by private equity firm Development Partners International, and fund manager AfricInvest have announced the completion of Compagnie Marocaine de Goutte à Goutte et de Pompage’s (CMGP) merger with Comptoir Agricole du Souss (CAS), creating a new champion in Moroccan and African agriculture, which will be known as CMGP-CAS.

Mediterrania Capital Partners, the private equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North and sub-Saharan Africa, has made an investment in Dislog Industries, one of the largest FMCG manufacturers in Morocco.

A consortium led by Metier, an independent African private equity fund manager, has invested $36 million into Africa Mobile Networks Ltd (AMN), which builds and operates mobile network base stations. The consortium includes CDC Group, DEG, Proparco, Mauritius Commercial Bank’s equity division and other financial institutions and investment managers. As part of the transaction, the consortium is also acquiring $3.5 million of existing shares and in total will own a significant minority shareholding in AMN.

South Africa’s City Lodge Hotels will sell its East African operations, comprising its hotels situated in Kenya and Tanzania. The first transaction relates to the disposal of shares beneficially owned by the company in Kenya to Ukarimu Limited, which is owned by Actis Africa Real Estate 3 LP, a global investor in real estate and infrastructure. The second transaction relates to the disposal of shares owned by the company in Tanzania to Faraja Limited, which is also beneficially owned by Actis.

South African payments and software platform Yoco has secured $83 million in series C funding from Dragoneer Investment Group, Breyer Capital, HOF Capital, The Raba Partnership, 4DX Ventures, TO Ventures and several current and former executives from global tech leaders such as Coinbase, Revolut, Spotify and Gojek. The funding round also included existing Yoco investors Partech, Velocity Capital Fintech Ventures, Orange Ventures and Quona Capital.

Helios Investment Partners, the Africa-focused private investment firm, will acquire a majority stake in a diversified group of medtech companies in Morocco. The consolidated group operates in medical devices, in vitro diagnostic and pharmaceuticals, and comprises four companies: Techniques Science Santé, IM Alliance, Cyclopharma and Binarios.

Tana Africa Capital announced an investment into Africa Protein Holdings Limited, a Mauritius-based holding company that includes Quality Meat Packers and Anirita Poultry Farm.

Yeelen Financial Fund, a fund dedicated to the financial sector of the West African Economic and Monetary Union region and managed by private equity firm Cauris Management, has taken a stake in Holding Groupement d’Assurances Modernes Multiformes en Afrique which owns two insurance companies in Mali, namely Sonavie and Sabunyuman.

Johannesburg-based online marketplace for home services Kandua has raised a significant pre-series A funding round from a consortium of investors that include Knife Capital and Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures.

Fundraising

The Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), a development financial institution (DFI) owned by the Government of Denmark, has committed $15 million to ADP III, a sector-agnostic fund with a pan-African focus advised by Development Partners International. The fund has attracted investments from several DFIs. ADP III aims to invest $40-120 million in eight to 14 companies.

The 27four Black Business Growth Fund II Partnership – a blended finance partnership between the South African Government through the Jobs Fund, and South African institutional investors – has invested in the Vuna Fund I, a generalist mid-market fund managed by Vuna Partners.

The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund closed on June 30 at $58 million. This equity fund provides capital to support African agribusinesses that help smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. Sponsored by Acumen and anchored by Green Climate Fund (GCF), the fund is supported by FMO, the Soros Economic Development Fund, Proparco, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, IKEA Foundation, Global Social Impact, and other investors and funders.

Convergence Partners, a private equity investor focused on the technology sector across sub-Saharan Africa, announced the first close of its third fund, the Convergence Partners Digital Infrastructure Fund (CPDIF) at $120 million. The fund is targeting a final size of $250 million. Investors in CPDIF include CDC Group, the United States International Development Finance Corporation, the European Investment Bank, the IFC and Proparco.

Vantage Capital, Africa’s largest mezzanine fund manager, closed its fourth mezzanine fund. With $207 million of commitments from European and US-based commercial investors as well as DFIs, including IFC, CDC Group and SIFEM, Vantage Mezzanine Fund IV is on track to reach its target total fund size of $350 million.

Exits

Private equity funds managed by Carlyle and Ethos Private Equity will exit their stakes in J&J Group to South African logistics company Imperial. The J&J Group offers end-to-end logistics solutions between Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Malawi and the DRC.