Mergers and acquisitions – current trends in key African markets

By Bowmans

M&A activity continues to be strong in key African jurisdictions and is resurging in others after a challenging 2020 and early 2021. All signs during this first quarter of 2022 are pointing to a brisk period of deal making in the coming months.

With economies reopening after the COVID-19 standstill, African countries are generally eager to attract inward investment.

Recent sanctions on Russia, its banks and oligarchs are having far-reaching consequences, resulting in an element of uncertainty in global markets. This is likely to impact M&A and private equity, particularly in those jurisdictions and for those global corporates most reliant on Russia for the provision of services or that have Russian ties. It remains to be seen how
this will play out in M&A across Africa since exposure is complex and not yet fully quantifiable.

There are however important trends that international investors should note. Some of these are common across the eight key African jurisdictions included in our analysis of M&A activity in Africa, while others are unique to specific countries.

Our analysis covers: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. It is focused on key sectors with active M&A dealmaking, important considerations to take into account when concluding transactions, and predicted M&A in the coming months.

Download the full report here.

Bowmans is a leading corporate law firm with a highly skilled team, track record and geographical footprint to provide both upstream and downstream services to the private equity sector in Africa. www.bowmanslaw.com/service/private-equity