Africa

Private equity and venture capital news from Africa

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• TVM Capital MENA gets green light for healthcare investments 16 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Growth capital firm TVM Capital MENA has received approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority to kick start its first regional healthcare fund with $40m of subscriptions from founding investors, Saudi Health Investment Company, the International Finance Corporation, and GE Healthcare.

• Gulf Capital takes over Egyptian healthcare business 15 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Gulf Capital, one of the largest private equity firms in the Middle East, has acquired a 75 per cent interest in TechnoScan, a chain of medical diagnostic imaging centres.

• Kingdom Zephyr picks up $492m for pan-African PE fund 11 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management Company, a pan-African private equity firm, has completed the final closing of its second fund with total commitments of $492m.

• Aureos Capital Africa SME fund reaches $380m final close 09 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Emerging markets specialist Aureos Capital has reached a final close for its Africa-focused private equity vehicle. At $381.1m, the Aureos Africa Fund is the largest fund ever raised targeting small and medium-sized businesses across the continent.

• Helios acquires Ghanaian communication towers 02 Feb 2010. Source: AltAssets. Helios Capital, an emerging markets-focused private equity firm, has acquired 750 towers in Ghana as part of its drive to develop telecommunications infrastructure in Africa.

• CDC commits $10m to ShoreCap Management fund 26 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. UK development fund of funds CDC has committed $10m to fund manager ShoreCap Management’s microfinance fund ShoreCap II.

• Citadel sets its sights on East Africa 18 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. North African private equity firm Citadel Capital has announced plans to invest heavily in East Africa over the next two years. The Middle East and Africa-focused investor says that it plans to invest $200-$400m in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, claiming that those countries have developed sufficient legal and institutional infrastructure to support investments.

• StanChart PE takes $47.5m stake in Nigerian gas company 12 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. The private equity arm of British banking group Standard Chartered has taken a minority stake in Seven Energy, a Nigerian gas exploration and development company. Standard Chartered Private Equity has invested $47.5m in the company, which will be used to strengthen its position in the Nigerian energy market.

• Aureos Capital backs African hospital with $2.66m investment 06 Jan 2010. Source: AltAssets. Emerging market private equity specialist Aureos Capital has made its first investment, backing Nairobi Women’s Hospital with $2.66m.

• African PE firm ADC backs Zimbabwean bank in $6m deal 29 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. A group of investors led by ADC African Development Corporation, an Africa-focused private equity firm, has acquired the majority shareholding in Premier Finance Group. The Zimbabwean banking company was sold for around $6m.

• CDC commits $100m to duo of sub-Saharan private equity funds 21 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. UK government-backed emerging market fund of funds CDC has pledged over $100m to two sub-Saharan Africa focused private equity funds, having last week highlighted the challenging fundraising environment the region will face next year.

• CDC predicts difficult year for private equity in sub-Saharan Africa 18 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. Private equity firms in sub-Saharan Africa are facing a challenging 2010 due to a difficult fundraising environment, according to UK state emerging market fund of funds CDC.

• Africa investor Ariya Capital hires Hargreaves Lansdown co-founder 11 Dec 2009. Source: AltAssets. Africa-focused private equity firm Ariya Capital has appointed Stephen Lansdown, co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, the UK's biggest independent financial adviser.

• PE firm Helios attracts investor group to African telecoms tower company 27 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Emerging markets-focused private equity firm Helios has attracted a prominent group of investors, including Albright Capital, the private equity firm founded by former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, to expand Africa’s mobile tower network.

• Citadel Capital shows sweet tooth in $19m bolt-on for confectionary company 25 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital has acquired 75 per cent of Al-Musharraf, one of Sudan's largest producers of Middle Eastern confectionary halawa, biscuits and flour, for $19m

• Citadel Capital acquires two Egyptian solid waste management businesses 24 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital has acquired a controlling stake in two solid waste management businesses - The Egyptian Company for Solid Waste Recycling (ECARU) and the Engineering Tasks Group (ENTAG). Citadel has not disclosed the size of the deal.

• Egypt's Citadel Capital plans share listing 23 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Egyptian private equity firm Citadel Capital plans to list its shares on the Egyptian Exchange, according to reports in the Al-Mal newspaper. The listing would allow the firm, which has $8.3bn under management, to raise new capital as it continues to expand.

• Investcorp buys up 20 per cent of gas company Gulf Cryo 16 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. Investcorp, a Bahrain-based alternative investment firm, has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Gulf Cryo, manufacturer of industrial, medical and specialty gases in the Middle East. The deal size has not been disclosed.

• CDC invests $5m in Sierra Leone private equity fund 13 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. UK state development financier CDC has poured $5m into a private equity fund focused on Sierra Leone. This marks the first private equity investment made by a development finance institution into the West African nation since the end of its civil war in 2002, CDC claims.

• EVI Capital Partners launches two $400m funds for MENA investments 02 Nov 2009. Source: AltAssets. EVI Capital Partners, a Johannesburg-based private equity firm, has launched a $400m buy-out fund and a $400m mezzanine fund for investments in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East.

• Harbinger Capital invests $47m in African healthcare company 30 Oct 2009. Source: AltAssets. New York private equity company Harbinger Capital Partner is to invest $47m in African Medical Investment, a UK-listed provider of private hospitals, trauma centres and Well Woman clinics in Africa.

• ADIH launches $300m Hospitality Development Fund for MENASA region 21 Oct 2009. Source: AltAssets. Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) has launched its $300m Sharia-compliant Hospitality Development Fund (HDF), which will focus on investments in the GCC, Middle East, North Africa and Asia.  ADIH predicts a minimum IRR of 20 per cent for the fund.

• Citadel Capital to expand operations into East Africa following new appointment 12 Oct 2009. Source: AltAssets. Citadel Capital, an Egyptian private equity firm investing in the MENA region, has hired Hassan Massoud to head the firm’s East African office as it pursues growth opportunities across the Horn of Africa.