Private Equity

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – South Africa’s shrinking risk premia are a sign that investors are increasingly pricing out the chances of a credit downgrade for Africa’s most industrialized economy. Benchmark bond yields, credit default swaps and the nation’s sovereign spread have all declined to multi-month lows, even after Finance Minister Tito Mbowenisaid in October that government debt would peak two years later and at a higher level than previously forecast. But with emerging markets on a roll since the…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – After years on the sidelines, gold producers are suddenly the mining world’s hottest topic as the industry gathers in Cape Town this week. For more than half a decade, gold miners have been stuck in the doldrums, shunned by investors following a string of missteps and bogged down by a stagnant bullion price. Then, in September, a surprise mega deal turned the industry on its head. Barrick Gold Corp.’s $5.4 billion…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – A deepening crisis at South Africa’s biggest money manager is threatening to cast a pall over the economy and throw into doubt potential deals, including the bailout of the nation’s largest clothing retailer. Nine Public Investment Corp. directors quit on Friday, saying the institution overseeing the pension funds of most South African civil servants has entered a “state of paralysis” following misconduct claims against some board members. Those included questionable investments in the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Partech announces the final closing of its Partech Africa fund at €125 M ($143 M) above its hard cap and establishes East Africa presence. The Partech Africa Fund achieves a final closing at €125M, more than double the size of its first closing a year ago at €57M ($70M). Backed by a unique set of financial institutions, major corporate partners and successful entrepreneurs, Partech Africa sets out with the…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Conall Laverty, who raised over $1 million for his Dublin-based startup, jokes that his mother still wants to know when he’s going to get a real job — maybe at Google or one of the other technology giants scattered across the city. U.S. companies flooding into Ireland now employ, either directly or indirectly, about one in five workers in the country. Last month, Facebook Inc. and Salesforce.com Inc. unveiled plans to hire 2,500 more people…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Vodacom Group Ltd. closed some South African stores on Thursday as protests intensify over the level of compensation the mobile-phone company is prepared to pay an ex-employee who had an idea for a popular call-back service. While Vodacom says it accepts a 2016 court ruling that the company should pay Kenneth Makate for his creation, the two parties are at odds over the correct amount. Makate’s cause has been taken…