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. Vantage Capital invests $25m in water tank manufacturer
Vantage Capital, an Africa-focused mezzanine debt fund manager, has made an investment into Aquasantec International, a manufacturer and distributor of water tanks, pipes and related products, addressing water, sanitation and hygiene needs across the East African region.
Vantage invested $25 million into Aquasantec in June 2023, in the form of mezzanine debt and ordinary equity, acquiring a controlling shareholding in the group as part of a leveraged management buy-out. The founding Shah family, Ramco Group (a diversified conglomerate in Kenya) as well as Terra Mauricia (a publicly listed conglomerate in Mauritius) disposed of their shareholding in the group as part of the transaction.
Aquasantec was originally founded in Kenya (trading as Kentainers Limited) over 30 years ago by Chandulal Shah and family.
2. South Africa: Carlyle exits Tessara to AgroFresh
Global investment firm Carlyle has agreed to sell its majority stake in Tessara, a post-harvest solutions company, to AgroFresh. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Carlyle invested in Tessara in 2018 through its Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund (CSSAF). In 2020, the CSSAF team formed a separate private equity firm, Alterra Capital Partners, which continues to manage CSSAF’s investments including Tessara.
3. Kasada Hospitality Fund secures investment for Nairobi hotel
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), Proparco, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) have announced an investment of $49.5 million in the Kasada Hospitality Fund. This financial injection is set to breathe new life into Nairobi’s hospitality sector through the renovation of a 206-room hotel in the city’s Upper Hill business district.
The hotel, previously known as the Crowne Plaza, will undergo a complete refurbishment, transforming it into a dual-branded Pullman and Mercure establishment. The funding breakdown includes $11 million loans from both IFC and Proparco, and a $27.5 million guarantee from MIGA.
4. Sahel Capital backs Tanzanian dairy company
Sahel Capital, an investor in the food and agriculture sector in sub-Saharan Africa, has extended a three-year term loan facility and a renewable working capital line to Rogathe Dairy Farm Products Ltd from its Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA).
Rogathe is a dairy processing company based in Msata, Tanzania, that actively collaborates with smallholder farmers, sourcing fresh milk while enhancing their productivity and profitability through extensive extension services. Rogathe currently sources raw milk from 2,000 smallholder farmers and farmer cooperatives from surrounding communities, which it then processes into pasteurised milk and yoghurt.
5. Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II lands new LP
The board of directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $20 million investment in the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II. The fund seeks to raise up to $400 million from private, commercial or institutional investors to invest in industrial and infrastructure projects in Africa.
The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II will invest in companies based in some of sub-Saharan Africa’s leading economies, namely, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and Angola. Others are Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, Namibia, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.
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