Criterion Africa Partners exits investment

Criterion Africa Partners, a private equity firm investing in the forestry sector in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced that the forestry and sawmilling business of its portfolio company Peak Timbers has been acquired by Shiselweni Forestry Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the TWK Group. TWK is a local strategic buyer which trades on the ZARX stock exchange in South Africa.

Peak is an integrated forest products company located in the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) that includes 20,000 hectares of FSC certified eucalyptus plantations and a sawmill that produces mining timber and lumber. Peak supplies utility poles, lumber, mining timber, pulpwood, and biomass for African markets. As the plantations mature in the coming years, Peak’s sustainable annual timber harvest is expected to increase from its current harvest of 350,000 cubic meters/year to more than 550,000 cubic meters/year.

Since its acquisition of Peak in 2012, the Criterion team has catalysed additional investment of approximately $25 million into the rehabilitation and development of the business to enhance productivity and attract interest from prominent strategic players like TWK. The acquired Peak business will continue to have a significant economic development impact in the north-eastern region of Eswatini where it directly employs approximately 550 people and is a significant source of business for SMEs which provide employment to approximately 1,000 people.

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