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. Côte d’Ivoire: Vantage exits petroleum distributor
Mezzanine debt fund manager Vantage Capital announced that it has fully exited its investment in Pétro Ivoire, a locally-owned distributor of petroleum and gas products in Côte d’Ivoire.
The company has a leading position in the gas-to-consumer segment as well as about 80 service stations around the country.
Vantage provided €19 million of mezzanine funding in December 2018 to enable the founding family to regain a controlling stake in the company from two exiting private equity investors. With this new ownership structure, supported by Vantage’s investment, the company continued to invest in additional service stations and increased gas bottling capacity.
2. Sanlam Private Equity in waste management deal
Sanlam Private Equity (SPE), a division of Sanlam Investments, has acquired a controlling stake in SkipWaste, a provider of integrated waste management solutions to commercial, industrial and retail clients in South Africa.
The acquisition was made through SPE’s new private equity fund, SPE Mid-Market Fund I, which is one of three impact-focused funds in the Sanlam Investors’ Legacy Range launched in 2020.
3. Africa50 invests in Scanning Systems to develop one-stop joint border posts
Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, and Tassec Investment Holdings Africa announced the completion of Africa50’s equity investment into Scanning Systems, a company specialised in the design, financing and implementation of one-stop joint border posts in Africa.
The investment will support Scanning Systems to develop joint border posts and deliver efficient border management with modern facilities and tools, facilitate transit and increase traffic across the borders of Africa. This is expected to significantly reduce transit time, enhance security and increase tax and customs revenue collection for national and local economies.
4. Mediterrania lands European LP
German development finance institution, DEG, has signed a €10 million commitment to the Mediterrania Capital IV Mid-Cap (MC IV) fund.
MC IV will be the fourth private equity fund managed by Mediterrania Capital Partners Ltd.
MC IV will focus on investments in North Africa (mainly: Morocco and Egypt) and Francophone West Africa. The companies MCP focuses on are fast growing entities with strong management teams operating in growth markets. The fund will target investments in healthcare, FMCG, financial services and manufacturing.
5. Carry1st raises $27m from Bitkraft, Andreessen Horowitz, others
Carry1st, a mobile games publisher in Africa, has raised $27 million in funding led by BITKRAFT Ventures. The funding round also included participation from Andreessen Horowitz, TTV Capital, Alumni Ventures, Lateral Capital, Kepple Ventures and Konvoy.
The funding comes on the heels of a successful partnership with Call of Duty: Mobile in South Africa in Q4 2022 and new partnerships planned for 2023.