Amethis exits stake in Mauritius-based logistics company via IPO
Amethis, a member of the Edmond de Rothschild Private Equity Partnership, has sold its entire minority stake in Velogic Holding Company Limited. Headquartered in Mauritius, Velogic is a logistics business involved in freight-forwarding, customs clearance, transport, warehousing, port services, courier services, ship agency and packaging of special sugars.
Velogic serves clients worldwide in numerous sectors, from healthcare and retail to construction and fashion, including blue-chip names like Huawei, Galeries Lafayette and United Nations agencies.
Amethis invested in Velogic in December 2013 to support the company’s geographic expansion. Velogic started its first operations on the African continent in 2016 with the acquisition of two companies in Kenya in the customs clearance and transport segments. With this expansion in East Africa, Velogic is now strategically located in seven territories – Mauritius, Kenya, Madagascar, Reunion, India, Singapore and France – of which its two frontier markets of Kenya and India show double-digit growth.
Over the course of Amethis’ investment, Velogic succeed in growing its revenues to more than €75 million and more than doubled its EBITDA to about €7 million, driven by the growth in volume traded by the company and by the diversification into higher-margin services.
The full exit of Amethis’ investment in Velogic was enabled by the company’s listing on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, with a mix of retail and institutional investors acquiring Amethis’ 33.77% stake. Rogers Group, Velogic’s main shareholder, kept its majority stake in the company.
“The logistics industry is the lifeblood of the exchange of commercial goods. The health crisis has, moreover, demonstrated the importance of this sector, which has been relatively less impacted by the pandemic. The entry of Velogic on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius will allow it to attract the interest of local and international investors with the aim of diversifying the company’s shareholder base and boosting the liquidity of its shares. With our presence in the Indian Ocean, we are well-positioned to use Mauritius as a logistics hub for the region. Our ambition is to consolidate our activities in our traditional markets while focusing on our growth in emerging markets, namely East Africa, Madagascar and India,” explains Vishal Nunkoo, chief executive officer of Velogic.
For Amethis, the transaction was led by Luc Rigouzzo (co-founder and managing partner), Khady Koné- Dicoh (partner) and Melanie Meslay (investment manager).
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