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

Deals

Private equity firm Metier, through its most recent Sustainable Capital Fund, has made a substantial investment into South Africa based renewable energy company Broadreach Energy.

Helios Investment Partners has announced the launch of Africa Specialty Risk Group (ASR) in partnership with Mikir Shah, former CEO of AXA Africa Specialty Risks, and Bryan Howett, former CEO of Old Mutual’s pan-African reinsurance operations. ASR is a reinsurance business focused on the provision of comprehensive and bespoke risk mitigating insurance solutions.

South African private equity firm Capitalworks and businessman Tim Hutchinson have bought a majority shareholding in alcoholic beverages producer and distributor DGB, according to a Fin24 report. The stake was acquired from JSE-listed investment company Brait.

Alta Semper Capital made a further investment in Macro Holding, a consumer healthcare company in Egypt. As part of this transaction, the company is partnering with Alta Semper and the Alta Semper CoInvestor Consortium, consisting of emerging markets private equity specialist IDI Emerging Markets, African private markets investor Mbuyu Capital Partners, and London-based frontier markets specialist Kingsway Capital to expand the product portfolio, grow into complementary product lines, and expand geographically.

Vuna Partners Fund I, managed by Vuna Partners, acquired an 80% equity stake in South African logistics company 4PL Group, with the remaining 20% shareholding held by the company’s management. The fund is acquiring the stake from the Mergon Group, which has served as 4PL’s investment partner since the company was founded 13 years ago.

Ezdehar Management, an Egypt-based private equity firm, announced the purchase of a minority interest in Al-Tayseer Healthcare Group (THG) through its Ezdehar Egypt Mid-Cap Fund. THG is an integrated healthcare group operating across inpatient, outpatient, diagnostics and homecare segments.

The Agri-Business Capital Fund (ABC Fund) has provided loans worth a combined amount of €1.2 million to Anatrans, a cashew nut processor based in Burkina Faso, and Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited, a producer and processor of tubers and vegetables. ABC Fund is managed by Bamboo Capital Partners in partnership with Injaro Investments.

PAPE Fund 3, the mid-cap South African private equity fund managed by PAPE Fund Managers, has bought 45% of DDS Group, a leading African beverage dispensing and refrigeration services provider. PAPE Fund 3 has also provided loans to key members of the management team to increase their equity stakes in the business.

Naspers Foundry, Naspers’s R1.4 billion (about $85.2 million) early-stage investment vehicle aimed at boosting the South African tech sector, has closed its third deal, an investment in Food Supply Network (FSN) on undisclosed terms. FSN is an independent business-to-business marketplace that integrates ordering systems of manufacturers, distributors and buyers (restaurants, hotels and retailers) of food products.

GreenTec Capital Partners has announced an investment in Freshbag, a digital platform in Cameroon that connects farmers and vendors to ensure a fair and reliable food supply network.

Agribusiness investor Agris has expanded Kenya-based Evergreen Herbs Ltd with an investment in Kajiado Farm. Agris, a subsidiary of African investment group Maris Ltd, acquired Evergreen Herbs in March.

Fundraising

Swedfund, the Swedish development finance institution, has committed $12 million to the Solar Energy Transformation Fund managed by SunFunder. Swedfund’s capital will be used to provide loans to corporate borrowers active in the off-grid solar space – primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

XSML, a fund manager active in Central and East Africa, announced the first close of the African Rivers Fund III (ARF III) at $54 million. ARF III targets growing, well-managed SMEs in the Central and East African region covering Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, the Republic of Congo and surrounding countries.

Endeavor successfully closed the Endeavor Catalyst Fund III, a $134 million venture capital fund, which will continue to invest in Endeavor entrepreneurs in emerging and underserved markets globally. This is Endeavor’s largest fund to date, surpassing the $120 million target. It also brings Endeavor Catalyst’s total assets under management up to $250 million. Since its launch in 2012, Endeavor Catalyst has invested in more than 150 Endeavor entrepreneur-led companies across 30 different markets.

Exits

South Africa’s Rand Merchant Investments (RMI), through its fintech investment arm AlphaCode, has exited its investment in Luno, a cryptocurrency company. Digital Currency Group (DCG), a New York-based blockchain outfit and an early investor in Luno, has bought the company. RMI has sold its stake for cash to DCG, achieving an attractive price.