Helios exits food company
Helios Investment Partners, an Africa-focused private investment firm, acting on behalf of funds it advises, has completed the sale of its 49% stake in GBfoods Africa (GBFA) to its partner and co-shareholder, GBfoods SA. Successful execution of Helios’ value creation strategy resulted in strong financial, social and environmental performance. During Helios’ ownership, annual operating profit growth was consistently in the mid-teens, driven by both revenue growth and margin expansion.
Established in 2017, GBfoods Africa was a joint venture created by Helios and GBfoods through the combination of GBfoods’ existing bouillon cubes business in Africa and the acquisition of brands Gino, Pomo, Jago, and Bama. The combined platform generates 70% of gross profit from core brands and has a strong established presence in over 30 African markets.
Over the course of its four-and-a-half-year investment, Helios achieved its value creation objectives which were focused on four pillars: integration of the various business units under one Africa-oriented organisation; localisation of production, including large-scale farming and industrial processing; product innovation; and investments into route-to-market.
Nimit Shah, partner at Helios commented, “Helios is proud to have been selected as GBfoods’ partner of choice in Africa, and together to have transformed GBFA into a large, fast-growing and locally sustainable African consumer business. Our successful investment underscores the strength of our strategy in the consumer non-discretionary sector, focussing on resilient businesses that offer low-cost products with mass market appeal, and our capability to create value for all stakeholders through establishing high ESG standards and achieving growth with positive impact. We look forward to following the company’s continued success.”
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