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 Partners sells Mauritius paint business to global player
Adenia Partners has finalised the sale of the 95% equity stake held by Adenia Capital III in Mauvilac to AkzoNobel, the third-largest paint manufacturer worldwide. Mauvilac is the leading paint and coatings manufacturer in Mauritius. Adenia invested in Mauvilac in 2014.
During its investment period, Adenia initiated and implemented several value creation initiatives. Adenia recruited a new management team who steered the implementation of an ambitious modernisation plan. Significant investments were made to upgrade the factory and improve standards that are now in line with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, respectively, for quality, environmental and occupational health and safety management. Multiple product innovations were launched, with an increased focus on eco-friendly paints. Notable productivity improvements and increased network of direct distribution resulted in an EBITDA margin increase of more than 60% since acquisition.
2. Vital Capital launches debt facility to offer critical funding to African companies
Vital Capital, an impact investor focused on companies in sub-Saharan Africa, has announced a new debt facility providing loans to promising businesses to help them get through the coronavirus pandemic while continuing to offer essential services.
Vital Capital, which typically takes equity stakes, has launched the Vital Impact Relief Facility, to offer businesses immediate access to capital in anticipation of a severe economic crisis that could result from the rapid spread of coronavirus in the region. These loans, which seek risk-adjusted returns, will help fundamentally sound African businesses providing impactful services to weather the economic consequences of the virus and put them in a position to thrive when the pandemic has ended.
The Vital Impact Relief Facility will start with an initial $10 million in capital and will issue roughly 10 loans on favourable terms of approximately $1 million each with a duration of up to four years. Vital also plans to open the facility to other investors to extend the available pool of capital.
The vehicle will primarily target companies involved in agro-industry and processing, healthcare, sustainable infrastructure and education, and is initially launching in Kenya and Uganda. It will then expand into Vital's target geographies including Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola and Senegal.
3. Razorite Healthcare Africa Fund 1 locks in $10m from LP
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $10-million equity investment in the Razorite Healthcare Africa Fund 1 (RHAF1) to help improve healthcare infrastructure delivery across the continent.
RHAF1, to be registered in Mauritius with a 10-year term, aims to address the growing demand for affordable and quality healthcare services in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
The fund will provide growth capital to existing operating healthcare infrastructure facilities which show high potential for growth in the healthcare infrastructure value chain. Africa’s healthcare faces challenges due to inadequate access to quality health services coupled with rapid urbanisation, low investments in health infrastructure and a shifting epidemiological transition to non-communicable diseases.
4. Stanlib PE fund one step closer to acquiring AFGRI's grain silo business
South Africa's Competition Commission has recommended the approval of a proposed transaction whereby the Stanlib Infrastructure Yield Fund (IYF), represented by its general partner Stanlib Infrastructure GP 2, intends to acquire AFGRI Grain Silo.
Stanlib IYF is a private equity investment fund established with the objective of acquiring a portfolio of long-term operational infrastructure assets that will provide a blend of cash yield and capital growth over the long-term.
AFGRI Grain Silo is a South African grain management business which comprises of the grain silo and bunker storage facilities owned by AFGRI Operations.
5. DFC backs Kenya's Twiga Foods with $5m debt deal
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced the first disbursement of a $5 million loan to Twiga Foods to strengthen food security in Kenya by increasing farmers’ access to markets and improving the agricultural supply chain with cold storage.
Since 2014, Twiga has worked to streamline Kenya’s fragmented, inefficient food distribution system. The company purchases fresh produce from remote, hard-to-reach farms across the country. It then packages, stores, and distributes it to urban produce vendors, who place orders through Twiga’s digital sales platform.
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