The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News the past week
Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories the past week on Africa Private Equity News.
1. DPI sells 31% stake in fast food business to African Capital Alliance
Private equity firm Development Partners International (DPI) and African Capital Alliance (ACA) announced an investment partnership in African multi brand quick service restaurant (QSR) group Food Concepts. The deal will see the sale of 31% of Food Concepts by DPI to ACA.
ACA is a pan-African alternative investment firm focused on managing investments across sub-Saharan Africa, with $1.2 billion AUM. DPI will retain ownership of a majority stake in the company.
2. $115m first close for BluePeak Private Capital Fund
BluePeak Private Capital, an alternative investment firm with a strong focus on Africa, announced that it has raised capital of more than $100 million for the initial closing of its flagship private credit and mezzanine fund, BluePeak Private Capital Fund SCSp. The fund targets a final close of $200 million, with a hard cap of $250 million.
The fund’s initial closing is backed by leading African investors including CDC Group, the European Investment Bank, DFC, FMO and the “Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations” CDC Tunisia. The fund will provide bespoke financing solutions to small and mid-market companies and private equity sponsors operating in Africa that generate revenues between $10 million and $80 million and operate in growth sectors that are non-cyclical in nature, have strong management teams and a good track record of financial performance.
3. ZOLA Electric raises $90m from TotalEnergies Ventures, DBL, Helios, others
ZOLA Electric, a renewable energy technology company solving energy access and energy equality in emerging markets, announced the successful completion of a $90 million capital raise, comprised of $45 million of equity and $45 million of debt.
The equity element was led by several prominent investors including TotalEnergies Ventures, DBL Partners, Helios Investment Partners and Vulcan Capital.
The debt is being provided by some of the leading energy access lenders, including Dutch development bank FMO and Sunfunder, a solar finance company providing debt capital to solar enterprises in emerging markets.
4. Andela announces $200m investment led by SoftBank
Andela, the global network for remote engineering talent, announced $200 million in series E financing that values the company at $1.5 billion. The round was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 with participation from new investor Whale Rock and existing investors including Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital. Lydia Jett, founding partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, will join Andela’s board of directors.
Andela helps companies build remote engineering teams by providing them with access to the best software engineers in the world. Launched in Africa in 2014, the Andela network today represents engineers from more than 80 countries and six continents. Through Andela, thousands of engineers have been placed with leading technology companies including Github, Cloudflare and ViacomCBS.
5. Àrgentil’s clean energy portfolio company FMGSL achieves first financial closing
Àrgentil Capital Management Limited has successfully achieved a financial closing for First Modular Gas Systems Limited (FMGSL), a clean energy company founded by the firm alongside Dharmattan Gas Facilities Limited. This allows FMGSL to draw down on equity and debt financing to develop its first gas processing plant in Anambra State, South Eastern Nigeria. The total project cost for this first plant is estimated to be $16 million.
The new investment in FMGSL is from the Africa Infra Plus Fund (AIPF), a NGN40.5 billion (about USD98.4 million) Special Situation Infrastructure Equity Fund, and the first naira based infra fund that can invest in debt or equity in Nigerian Infrastructure projects. The fund’s target sectors include: power, telecommunication, transportation and basic infrastructure in Nigeria. The investors in AIPF I and II comprise of pension funds, asset managers, sovereign funds, and insurance companies. AIPF is managed by Africa Plus Partners Nigeria Limited, a SEC licensed infrastructure-focused private equity firm.
Àrgentil co-founded FMGSL to become a leading midstream energy company that develops and operates distributed gas processing facilities in multiple locations.
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