Africa Deal Roundup: 15 noteworthy deals and announcements in April

Phatisa Food Fund 2 and a group of co-investors – Norfund, Mbuyu Capital and DEG – have acquired integrated agricultural solutions provider Farming and Engineering Services Limited (FES), the single largest investor in Malawi’s agricultural equipment industry.

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

Deals

SPE Capital Partners has announced the acquisition of Saham Pharma, an antibiotics manufacturer and hospital provider in Morocco, alongside Proparco as a minority investor. The acquisition constitutes the fourth transaction executed through SPE AIF I, a $200 million Africa-focused private equity fund closed in 2019.

Private equity firm Kibo Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in a Mozambican tertiary education group Transcom S.A. This marks Kibo’s eleventh and final deal from its second fund.

Phatisa Food Fund 2 and a group of co-investors – Norfund, Mbuyu Capital and DEG – have acquired integrated agricultural solutions provider Farming and Engineering Services Limited (FES), the single largest investor in Malawi’s agricultural equipment industry. FES is also expanding into Zambia by acquiring (subject to normal conditions precedent) the business assets of agricultural equipment supplier BHBW Zambia.

Old Mutual Private Equity, through the OMPE Fund V, intends to acquire South African footwear and apparel distributor Crick. The deal is awaiting approval by the Competition Tribunal.

GreenTec Capital Partners has announced an investment in Kenya’s Amitruck. The company is a mobile and web-based trucking logistics platform that brings together cargo owners and transporters.

A.P. Moller Capital has completed its first investment in Kenya with the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Nairobi based thermal power plant Iberafrica from Naturgy.

InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group, has signed a shareholders’ agreement with Global Logistics Services Inc, committing $7.5 million to the development of the Liberia Inland Storage Facility project. InfraCo Africa will be the majority shareholder in the project.

South Africa’s Competition Commission has unconditionally approved the proposed merger whereby Sana Partners Fund 1 intends to acquire Brenn-O-Kem, a company involved in the manufacturing and supply of products made from the by-products of the South African wine industry. Sana is a private equity fund focused on investing in mid-sized companies in South Africa.

Fundraising

Dutch development financier FMO has approved a $25 million investment in the African Development Partners III fund, managed by private equity firm Development Partners International.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has disclosed it is considering an investment of up to $3 million in Savannah Fund II, a venture capital fund that is raising up to $25 million to invest in early-stage technology companies in Eastern and Southern Africa. IFC will initially invest $1 million at the first close of the fund, and thereafter increase its commitment to up to $3 million if the fund gets to a minimum fund size of $15 million.

Mediterrania Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North and sub-Saharan Africa, has reached a €286 million final closing for its third fund for Africa, Mediterrania Capital III. Looking to take substantial minority or majority stakes, the fund is investing in companies that are well-established in their local markets and have the potential to scale up their activities at the regional level and across the African continent.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has announced an investment of $9 million into the Agri-Business Capital (ABC) Fund, a blended capital impact fund. The ABC Fund, managed by Bamboo Capital Partners, catalyses blended capital and invests in underserved segments of agribusiness value chains focusing on farmer organisations, financial intermediaries and agribusiness SMEs.

The IFC has revealed an investment of up to $20 million into the SPE AIF I private equity fund, managed by SPE Capital. The fund will focus mainly on Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, where access to equity is especially constrained because of the macro-economic and political challenges.

Enygma Ventures has launched an R20 million (about $1.1 million) new fund to provide seed funding to African startups which are creating innovative solutions to address problems that may remain in a post-Covid-19 world. Through this sub fund, Enygma Ventures is expecting to provide seed capital for 20 to 40 startups as well as mentoring, training and business validation scholarships through Startup Circles, an online support platform for entrepreneurs.

Exits

Adenia Partners has finalised the sale of the 95% equity stake held by Adenia Capital III in Mauvilac to AkzoNobel, the third-largest paint manufacturer worldwide. Mauvilac is the leading paint and coatings manufacturer in Mauritius. Adenia invested in Mauvilac in 2014.


Further reading

[March 2020] Kenya-based investor sees opportunity in Covid-19 crisis
[April 2020] Investor shares an honest account of what it’s really like fundraising a VC fund in Africa
[April 2020] After a decade of building and investing in African companies, Emilian Popa explains why he is bullish on these five industries
[October 2019] Due Diligence: VC in Africa the opposite of Patagonia vests, Blue Bottle coffee and Burning Man
[November 2019] Due Diligence: ‘As an investment destination, sub-Saharan Africa is a marathon, not a sprint’