Private Equity

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigeria and Morocco set the stage for the construction of a pipeline that will connect Nigerian gas to customers elsewhere in Africa and make it available to European buyers. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Sunday signed an agreement in Rabat to start studies and consultations on the project, according to a statement by the Moroccan state agency MAP. The 5,660-kilometer (3,500-mile) conduit, which will follow onshore and…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority is restructuring its portfolio to focus more on domestic investments after a drop in the currency wiped out foreign-exchange gains last year. “The asset allocation strategy of NSIA has been restructured to reflect an increased focus on domestic infrastructure investments with 50 percent of future contributions to be dedicated to infrastructure,” according to a statement on Monday from the fund. The institution, which last year had…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Research provider Preqin indicated that 388 private equity (PE) funds raised a total of $114.6bn to invest in emerging markets (EMs) in 2017, compared to 639 EM-focused PE funds that raised $105.3bn in 2016. The aggregate capital raised in 2017 by EM-focused PE funds represented the second highest level since 2008. Also, the number of PE funds with a primary focus on EMs accounted for 32% of total PE funds, while the…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa ) – Fitch Ratings-London/Barcelona-26 April 2018: A recent technology breakthrough announced by Bosch, which the company claims can radically reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines, has the potential to reverse some of the recent pullback from the fuel, Fitch Ratings says. This could moderate the pace of electric vehicle (EV) adoption by restoring one of auto manufacturers’ more powerful options for meeting fleet-wide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets. Diesel…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa ) – IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced that it led the US$8.6mn Series A equity investment in Africa’s Talking, a Kenyan based communication-platform-as-a-service (“cPAAS”) API startup, to enable the startup to expand its footprint across the continent. As part of the deal, Wale Ayeni, who leads IFC’s venture capital activities in Africa, will join the boards other investors in the round including global venture capital…

NAIROBI (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. plans to start assembling vehicles in Kenya, bolstering government plans to develop a regional auto-manufacturing hub in East Africa’s biggest economy. The Japanese automaker is the latest to target Kenya after Volkswagen AG, PSA Peugeot and CNH Industrial NV announced plans for assembly lines in the past 18 months. The facilities could cut new-vehicle costs to customers in some of the continent’s fastest-growing economies, where vehicle ownership…