Affirma Capital exits African beverage can manufacturer to Oppenheimer Partners
Affirma Capital (formerly Standard Chartered Private Equity) has exited its investment in the GZI Group to Oppenheimer Partners.
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Affirma Capital (formerly Standard Chartered Private Equity) has exited its investment in the GZI Group to Oppenheimer Partners.
GZI is a manufacturer and producer of aluminium cans for global blue-chip beverage brands in Africa. The group supplies beverage cans into key regional markets across sub-Saharan Africa.
Affirma first invested in GZI in 2012, increasing its stake to 37.5% during its ownership period. Affirma led GZI’s expansion in Nigeria, launching the group’s second plant.
In 2018, the private equity firm led a capital raise to co-fund GZI’s expansion into South Africa. This resulted in Oppenheimer Partners acquiring a stake in GZI.
Ronald Tamale, founding partner and head of sub-Saharan Africa at Affirma Capital said, “We are proud of the work we’ve done to build a market-leading, multinational packaging business in Africa. When we first invested in GZI, the business was a single plant, single country operation. Since then, we have shaped a successful growth strategy culminating in market leadership across sub-Saharan Africa. GZI now boasts three world-class manufacturing facilities in Nigeria and South Africa – Africa’s largest economies. We’ve played a pivotal role in GZI’s transformation.
“During our investment period, we have navigated complex macroeconomic headwinds including FX illiquidity challenges in Nigeria, supply chain disruptions, commodity price volatility, and an uncertain economic outlook in GZI’s core markets. Despite this, we’ve remained disciplined by focusing on delivering growth, margin expansion, and the protection of shareholder value. The sale of our stake to Oppenheimer Partners demonstrates the robustness of our partnership since 2018. We wish the GZI team and Oppenheimer Partners all the very best as they embark on the next phase of the GZI journey.”
Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited (RMB) acted as advisors to Affirma Capital on the transaction.
Affirma is an independent emerging market-focused private equity firm established through the spin-off of Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) from Standard Chartered Bank in 2019.
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