Nigeria: Àrgentil invests in pharmaceutical company
Àrgentil Capital Management Limited has announced an equity investment in Sygen Pharmaceuticals Limited. The investment was structured via the sponsor’s investment vehicle Consumer Growth Partners along with other co-investors.
Sygen is an indigenous pharmaceutical company incorporated in 2019 to acquire the key operating assets of Nigerian German Chemicals (NGC). Prior to its acquisition, NGC remained a well-known brand in Nigeria with operations spanning over 50 years.
Sygen produces and distributes pharmaceutical products covering analgesic, anti-diabetics, antifungal, anti-spasmodic, cough medications and hematinic drugs segments under the NGC brand name. The company also manufactures beverages and bottled water. The company operates a factory in Ogun state, south-west Nigeria and eight depots across the country.
Sygen’s vision is to build a leading pharmaceutical business focused on manufacturing and distributing affordable quality drugs that are readily available and easily accessible to the middle and lower-income demographic of the economy.
Àrgentil invested in the transaction based on the management team’s strong track record in excess of 155 years’ leading and managing operations of FMCG companies in Nigeria and other emerging markets. The healthcare and consumer sectors continue to provide significant growth opportunities to companies like Sygen which can deliver quality affordable drugs to a large domestic market.
Àrgentil currently invests in SMEs via Àrgentil Principal Investment Portfolio II (APIP II) which has completed five investments to date. Àrgentil is also expanding its investment focus via the $95 million Àrgentil SME Investment Fund (ASIF) to cover key West Africa countries.
ASIF will invest in key growth sectors including agribusiness, consumer, technology and energy. ASIF’s initial country focus will cover Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Àrgentil also makes direct investments from its balance sheet to support management teams or sponsor new businesses that seek to create platforms that can scale over time to execute growth strategies in key sectors.
Gbenga Hassan, partner at Àrgentil led the deal.
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