Private Equity

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…

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Lekoil Ltd. sank to a record low in London trading after falling victim to an alleged scam, leaving the future of a Nigerian oil project at risk. A loan deal struck earlier this month is no longer valid, the company said, alleging that individuals claiming to be from the Qatar Investment Authority were in fact fraudsters. Lekoil now has until February to raise enough money to cover its drilling costs at…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The hedge fund industry’s main trade association has hired a Carlyle Group Inc. partner to be its new president, as the investment firms look to bolster their lobbying presence ahead of what promises to be a turbulent political year. Bryan Corbett will join the Managed Funds Association on Jan. 21, the Washington-based group said on Wednesday. A Republican who worked at the White House and Treasury Department during the George W. Bush administration, Corbett…

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Helios Towers, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest mobile-phone tower operators, is reviving plans for an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. The company’s advisers are resuming preparations for an IPO that could value Helios at about $3 billion, according to the people. It is considering filing for the share sale as soon as this year, the people said. The tower owner is weighing London and Johannesburg…

PORT LOUIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Let down by falling numbers of Chinese visitors and fretting about Brexit, the tourism industry of Mauritius is turning to an unexpected savior: Saudi Arabia. While surging numbers of Chinese visitors to the Indian Ocean island’s resorts helped underpin an 11% annual growth rate in tourists in 2015, that slowed to 4.3% last year, partially as a result of the scrapping of direct flights by China Southern Airlines Co….