Private Equity

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Quilter Plc’s rose in its first day of trading in London and Johannesburg as the U.K. wealth manager set its own path after being spun out of Old Mutual Plc. The breakup of 173-year-old Old Mutual will be largely complete this week as the London-based insurer hives off its businesses after determining that they would be worth more on their own. The initial public offering of Quilter on Monday will be followed…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Africa’s largest cattle feedlot is considering a management buyout that will value the company based south of Johannesburg at about 6 billion rand ($450 million), according to two people familiar with the matter. The management of Karan Beef (Pty) Ltd. may approach the Public Investment Corp. — which manages pension funds of South African government workers — to assist it with funding, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Azuri’s HomeSmart adjusts power output based on prior solar battery use. In sub-Saharan Africa, home electricity is a 50-50 prospect and bank accounts can be rare, but most people have some kind of cellphone. The phones provide information often tough to come by in rural areas—the latest commodity prices, for example. And even in places where pastoral tribesmen tend livestock in very old-school ways, they may also chat over…