Private Equity

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Research provider Preqin indicated that 267 private equity (PE) funds raised a total of $133bn in capital commitments worldwide in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 395 PE funds that secured $188.3bn in the fourth quarter of 2019 and to 366 PE funds that raised $118.6bn in the first quarter of 2019. It noted that the outbreak of the coronavirus had a limited impact on global PE fundraising,…

(Bloomberg) — Helios Towers Ltd.’s plans to expand following last year’s London share sale may have been waylaid by the coronavirus outbreak, but the Africa-focused company has $350 million primed and ready for when dealmaking can resume. The telecommunications firm raised funds in an initial public offering in October, with the proceeds earmarked to fund an entry into new African markets and add to a portfolio of almost 7,000 towers. “It’s not that talks stalled…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – ARCH Emerging Markets Partners’ Africa Renewable Power Fund (ARCH ARPF) today announced its commitment to fund CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) with up to US$16.5M in equity funding to develop and finance new Commercial & Industrial (C&I) solar assets that will provide businesses across Africa with access to cheaper, cleaner power. This commitment represents the first stage of a larger transaction under finalization by CrossBoundary Energy to scale solar for business…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Tembo Power has signed a Joint Development Agreement with Metier, an independently owned private equity fund manager, for its Kaptis project, a 14.7 MW run of a river hydropower project in Kenya, together with its partner WK Construction, a leading contractor in the field of hydropower in sub-Saharan Africa. This agreement now allows the partners to appoint lenders and prepare for financial closing, expected this year, and to start…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Amethis Finance plans to acquire a minority stake in Naivas, a Kenyan retailer looking to expand amid competition from new entrants including Carrefour SA. The Africa-focused investment company’s unit Amethis Fund II agreed to buy 30% of the retailer, subject to regulatory approval, Naivas Chief Commercial Officer Willy Kimani said, declining to disclose the value of the deal. Naivas plans to open as many as eight stores in Kenya annually for the next…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa)  – CDC Group to invest 2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) in African businesses over the next two years as the U.K.-owned investor looks to double its portfolio on the continent. This is in addition to $400 million of deals already signed off, CDC Group Chief Executive Officer Nick O’Donohoe said in a statement. Those approved transactions include a $100 million trade-finance loan to Johannesburg-based Absa Group Ltd. and an agreement to provide $100…