Private Equity

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) — Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance, whose backers include Cisco Systems Inc. and a foundation of South African businessman Jonathan Oppenheimer, has raised $1 million to support its African technology startups and help kick-start the return of venture capital to the continent following the coronavirus outbreak. The group has allocated about $100,000 each for two Nigerian companies to help them through economic downturns caused by the pandemic, Harambe Chairman Okendo Lewis-Gayle said in a…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Carlyle Group Inc. is spinning out its sub-Saharan African team to a new company formed by the managers of its $700 million regional fund, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The alternative asset manager is hiving off the fund after deciding against raising a follow-on fund to the one it closed in 2014, most of which has been invested, the person said, asking not to…

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) — Capitalworks Investment Partners Pty Ltd. plans to invest 5 billion rand ($270 million) of newly raised cash in mid-sized South African companies hit by a shrinking local economy and the coronavirus pandemic. The firm raised 25% more than planned for its Private Equity Fund III from Morgan Stanley’s Alternative Investments Partners unit, institutional investors and wealthy families, Capitalworks founder Chad Smart said. The Johannesburg-based company is seeking businesses with enterprise values from 250…

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…