Enko Capital exits its investment in Netis
Enko Capital exits its investment in Netis
Enko Capital Managers, managers of the Enko Africa Private Equity Fund, a private equity investor, has exited its investment in Netis, a telecom service provider in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Enko Capital Managers, managers of the Enko Africa Private Equity Fund (EAPEF), a private equity investor targeting mid-cap growth companies across Africa, has exited its investment in Netis, a telecom network service provider specialised in the design, construction, installation, and management of telecom infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa.
A consortium comprised of Amethis, AfricInvest, Proparco and IFC acquired EAPEF’s entire share capital in Netis. Enexus acted as the lead M&A advisor to EAPEF in connection with the transaction.
In September 2018, EAPEF made an initial investment in Netis with the ambition to finance the consolidation of its market position in its existing markets and support its expansion strategy into other African countries. Two years later, EAPEF completed the buyout of Netis’ controlling stake previously owned by Saham Finances which itself was subsequently acquired by Sanlam Insurance (now Sanlam Allianz).
The transaction resulted in EAPEF becoming the controlling shareholder of Netis, alongside its two co-founders, marking the fund’s first majority investment. At the same time, with the support of EAPEF and the backing of its funding partners Investec Bank and NinetyOne, Netis acquired Reime Group, a provider of active maintenance services of telecom tower infrastructure. The Netis-Reime combination created one of the biggest telecom infrastructure service players on the continent.
Enko managing partner Cyrille Nkontchou who led the transaction said, “EAPEF is delighted to have supported the Netis co-founders in their journey to build a leading player in the installation and maintenance of telecom infrastructure in Africa. Netis was able to expand its footprint significantly to include Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Gabon, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. The group boasts a high quality and well diversified portfolio of top-tier clients. Netis Holding now employs more than 3,200 people and manages around 26,000 sites. The company has recorded a strong growth in revenue since inception, exceeding $100 million in 2022, with a solid financial performance overall.”
EAPEF I is a pan African private equity fund established in April 2014 for the purpose of investing in growth companies in Africa across a broad range of economic sectors. EAPEF’s investment focus is on entrepreneur-led, mid-sized companies with strong management. Enko Capital Managers, investment manager of EAPEF, is part of the Enko Capital group, an Africa-focused asset management firm with over $720 million in assets under management, and with offices in London, Johannesburg, Abidjan, Kigali, Yaoundé, and Port Louis.
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