Private Equity

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – MTN Group Ltd. is exploring a sale of shares in African online retailer Jumia and values the company at as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Africa’s largest wireless carrier is considering an initial public offering of the Amazon.com Inc.-style business on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange, said the people, who asked not to be named as the information isn’t public. Johannesburg-based MTN is…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – The companies developing Israel’s largest natural gas fields and their Egyptian partner have finalized details of a deal that would give them control over a pipeline to Egypt, according to people familiar with the matter, a crucial step that would pave the way for a $15 billion export contract. The deal involves setting up joint venture companies in Cyprus and the Netherlands, through which Israel’s Delek Drilling LP, U.S.-based Noble Energy Inc. and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Helios Towers Plc is investing tens of millions of dollars in the Democratic Republic of Congo and looking for acquisitions as the African phone-tower operator seeks to move on from a scrapped initial public offering earlier this year. The company plans to build 1,800 kilometres (1,118 miles) of tower network in the Congo to connect an additional 6 million people in sub-Saharan Africa’s largest country, Chief Executive Officer Kash Pandya said by…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – A rumoured IPO of the world’s biggest crypto-miner might end up as a play on advanced AI chips.  The 1980s cyberpunk novels that predicted today’s internet failed to conceive of anything as outlandish or contradictory as Bitcoin: A digital currency that’s spent nowhere, a commodity that’s used for nothing, and a libertarian dream that’s effectively run by elites. Now, after its 66-percent price drop from December highs, comes yet another fantastical…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Kosmos Energy (NYSE/LSE: KOS) announced today that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire Deep Gulf Energy (“DGE”)1, a leading deepwater company operating in the Gulf of Mexico, from First Reserve and other shareholders for a total consideration of $1.225 billion, subject to certain adjustments. By acquiring DGE, Kosmos adds to its deepwater Atlantic Margin portfolio an established business with attractive assets and a strong record of growing…

CAIRO (Capital Markets in Africa) – EFG-Hermes Holding SAE bought Nigerian brokerage and research house Primera Africa Securities Ltd. as the investment bank seeks to expand in frontier markets across Africa and Asia. The acquisition marks Cairo-based EFG Hermes’s second foray into sub-Saharan Africa after receiving a Kenyan stockbroking license in July 2017, extending its reach to 12 countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman. The firm plans to use the Lagos-based operation as a hub to…