Àrgentil Capital Management has announced an undisclosed equity investment in Sygen Pharmaceuticals, an indigenous pharmaceutical company in Nigeria.

Gbenga Hassan, Partner at Àrgentil, led the deal.

The investment was structured via the sponsors’ investment vehicle, Consumer Growth Partners along with other co-investors.

Sygen was incorporated in 2019 to acquire the key operating assets of Nigerian German Chemicals (NGC). Prior to its acquisition NGC remained a well-known brand in Nigeria with operations spanning over 50 years.

Sygen produces and distributes pharmaceuticals products covering Analgesic, Anti-Diabetics, Antifungal, Anti-spasmodic, Cough medications and Hematinic drugs segments under the NGC brand name. 

The company also manufactures beverage and bottled water.

The Company operates a factory in Ogun state, south west Nigeria and eight depots across the country.

Sygen’s vision is to build a leading pharmaceutical business focused on manufacturing and distributing affordable quality drugs that are readily available and easily accessible to the middle and lower-income demographic of the economy. 

Àrgentil invested in the transaction based on the management teams strong track record in excess of 155 years’ leading and managing operations of FMCG companies in Nigeria and other emerging markets.

The healthcare and consumer sector continue to provide significant growth opportunities to companies like Sygen who can deliver quality affordable drugs to a large domestic market.

Àrgentil currently invests in SMEs via the Àrgentil Principal Investment Portfolio II (APIP II), which has completed five investments to date.

Àrgentil is also expanding its investment focus via the $95m Àrgentil SME Investment Fund (ASIF) to cover key West Africa countries.

ASIF invests in key growth sectors including Agribusiness, Consumer, Technology and Energy. ASIF’s initial country focus will cover Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Àrgentil also makes direct investments from its balance sheet to support management teams or sponsor new businesses that seek to create platforms that can scale over time to execute growth strategies in key sectors.

To date Àrgentil has made directs investments in the consumer / healthcare and clean energy space.