Africa | - Part 12

Africa’s Biggest Company Seeks Partnerships With Phone Companies

JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Naspers Ltd., Africa’s biggest company by market value, is seeking partnerships with mobile-phone operators on the continent to boost its video-on-demand business and help compete with U.S. giant Netflix Inc. The owner of Africa’s biggest pay-TV provider is planning to build on a joint venture agreed to last year with Kenya’s largest company, Safaricom Ltd., to roll out online service Showmax at more affordable data prices. Safaricom is 40 percent…

Diamond Said to Mull Atlas Options Including Taking Private

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LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Bob Diamond, co-founder of Atlas Mara Ltd., is weighing options including taking the sub-Saharan African bank acquirer private, people with knowledge of the plan said. One option being considered is to find an investor or private-equity vehicle to back such a move, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. A merger with another financial institution with a presence in Africa is also being weighed,…

Citigroup, Top Africa Loan Arranger, Sees M&A Boosting Lending

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Citigroup Inc., sub-Saharan Africa’s top loan arranger in 2016, expects increased sovereign demand and mergers and acquisitions to drive lending in the region this year as low valuations spur deals. “Lots of financing activity is expected in 2017,” Aziz Rahman, the bank’s head of corporate finance in the region said in an interview on Monday. Loans to sovereigns and corporates will increase as M&A deals rise and infrastructure spending picks…

Carlyle to become largest shareholder in South Africa’s Global Credit Ratings

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JOHANNESBURG (Capital Markets in Africa) – Carlyle Group has agreed to become the largest shareholder in Johannesburg-based Global Credit Ratings (GCR), the U.S. buyout fund said on Tuesday, looking to broaden the pan-African ratings agency’s services. Terms of the deal, which was first reported by the Financial Times, were not disclosed. Carlyle is set to buy around half of the equity in GCR from its management founders and German development finance business DEG, which will remain…

Germany and African Countries Seek to Strengthen Trade and Investment Ties

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LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – This year, Germany will host the first ever privately held event exclusively dedicated to strengthening trade and investment ties between Germany and the African continent. The Germany-Africa Business Forum (www.GermanyAfrica.com), which will take place March 23, 2017 in Frankfurt, capitalizes on a wave of interest taken by the German government and companies to increase their engagement with African countries. Last October, German Chancellor made a 3-day visit to Mali,…

AfricInvest and Bpifrance launch French African Fund

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TUNIS (Capital Markets in Africa) – AfricInvest and Bpifrance are pleased to announce the launch of the French African Fund (FFA), the first cross-border investment fund dedicated to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in both Africa and France. The fund will be managed by AfricInvest, a leading pan-African mid-cap-focused private equity firm with almost EUR1bn of funds under management and offices in six African countries as well as in France. A pool of…

Donald Trump’s Team Has Questions About Africa. Here Are Answers

Posted on by The Editorial Team

WASHINGTON (Capital Markets in Africa) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has circulated a list of questions on Africa to the State Department and Pentagon. At the top of the list are two queries about the United States and China and their relative presence on that continent: “How does U.S. business compete with other nations in Africa? Are we losing out to the Chinese?” Peter Navarro, who will lead Trump’s National Trade Council, provided his…

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