The 5 most popular stories on Africa Private Equity News this week
Here are summaries of the five most widely read stories this week on Africa Private Equity News.
1. Adenia acquires grower of premium roses in Kenya
Adenia Partners, a private equity firm investing in Africa, has acquired a majority stake in Altilands SA, the parent company of Red Lands Roses, a grower of premium fresh-cut roses in Kenya. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Established in 1996 by agronomist, Isabelle Spindler, Red Lands operates a farm of 28 hectares, 35 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, at approximately 1,565 metres above sea level. Red Lands’ premium fresh-cut roses have fuller heads, longer stems, and a vase life of 12 to 21 days which not only provides value for its targeted premium florist market, but also ensures an overall lower carbon emissions profile. Red Lands produces 16 million stems per year which comprise of over 200 varieties of fresh-cut roses. The company sells exclusively to wholesalers, predominantly serving markets in Russia, Eastern and Central Europe.
2. Actis reaches final close on fund with $6bn of investable capital
Actis has completed fundraising for its Actis Energy 5 (AE5) fund, significantly exceeding its $4 billion target. With over $4.7 billion of fund commitments and significant co-investment, the energy team expects to deploy around $6 billion of investable capital in this vintage. The fund will allocate capital globally, providing access to power in markets comprising over 80% of the world’s population.
The AE5 fundraise saw sizeable LP re-ups as well as new commitments from a diversified investor base. The LP base includes pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and other investors from across the globe. The fundraise was conducted entirely during the global pandemic, requiring creative solutions to due diligence including ‘virtual’ site visits and remote management team meetings.
3. Burkina Faso: AfricInvest backs insurance company
AfricInvest, an asset management firm for private equity, venture capital and private credit in Africa, announced an investment in the Burkina Faso-based RAYNAL Assurances, one of the leading and most dynamic non-life insurers in the market. The transaction was made through AfricInvest FIVE, an evergreen investment vehicle dedicated to the financial sector in Africa, allowing the exit of the pan-African financial group SUNU, one of the founding shareholders of RAYNAL Assurances.
Since its establishment in 2005 as a partnership between local entrepreneurs and SUNU, RAYNAL Assurances has grown to become the third-largest non-life insurer in Burkina Faso.
3. AIIM completes capital increase for IDEAS fund
African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), one of Africa’s largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers, has successfully completed a capital increase of ZAR5.5 billion (about $370 million) for its flagship southern African infrastructure fund, the IDEAS Managed Fund.
The fundraise exceeds the initial ZAR4.5 billion ($301 million) target by 20%, taking the size of the open-ended fund to more than ZAR22 billion ($1.475 billion).
IDEAS will deploy the capital in line with the fund’s existing mandate, providing investors with exposure to a diversified portfolio of sustainable infrastructure assets across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The current fundraising has been concluded to support the deployment of an active pipeline of assets across the power, digital infrastructure and transport sectors, over the next three years, underpinned by long-term economic and environmental sustainability goals.
5. Cape Verde: A.P. Moller Capital in wind energy deal
A.P. Moller Capital has, through the Africa Infrastructure Fund, completed the acquisition of a 44% stake in Cape Verdean wind energy producer Cabeolica from Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Cabeolica is Cape Verde’s largest IPP and renewable energy producer and, together, A.P. Moller Capital and AFC, who will remain a shareholder, will focus on further improving supply of renewable energy in Cape Verde.
Cabeolica sells electricity to the national utility Electra under a long-term power purchase agreement. With wind farms located on four islands in the Cape Verde archipelago with a total capacity of 25.5MW, the company has provided reliable renewable power to the grid since the start of its operations in 2011. The wind farms are operated by a highly experienced local management team with extensive knowledge of the Cape Verde energy market.
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