While private equity has historically been more prevalent in Africa than private credit, the latter encompasses a range of strategies that can provide attractive alternative financing options for African small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Despite the flux in many African markets over the past few years, the number of PE-backed IPOs in both African and global stock exchanges have remained relatively constant.
In South Africa, long term private equity returns remained steady for the first quarter of 2018, according to the latest RisCura-SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Report.
Mergence Investment Managers, an independent specialist boutique asset management company based in South Africa, has said it sees 26% annual compound growth in unlisted investments and will leverage off commodities trading subsidiary.
Partners Group and Convergence Partners have established Helical Capital Partners, a private markets firm that will provide the South African investor community with access to a diversified, global portfolio of private investments. Helical Capital Partners’ South African operations will be based in Johannesburg and will be led by principals Craig Beney (previously COO of Convergence Partners) and Carlos Ferreira (previously CEO of Fairstone Capital).
The Board of Abraaj Holdings has filed an application in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for a court-supervised restructuring as it battles allegations of misused funds.
The SA private equity has outperformed the FTSE/JSE All Share Total Return Index (ALSI TRI) and the FTSE/JSE Shareholder Weighted Total Return Index (SWIX TRI) over the 3-year and 5-year reporting periods analysed.
Exits to private equity and other financial buyers continued to increase in 2017, to 37%, and now represent the most common exit route, as evidenced by the sixth annual PE exit study, presented by EY and the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA).
Quantum Global has been subjected to a barrage of baseless and damaging allegations in the press in Mauritius while it prepares to contest actions taken by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in the Mauritius Court.
Milost Global in partnership with Japaul Oil & Maritime Services, Resort Savings and Loans, Femab Properties and Primewaterview Holdings has offered a combination of debt and equity facility to the Nigerian market.
DOB Equity, a Dutch family-backed impact investor, has opened an office in Westlands, Nairobi, where leading investors and business representatives gathered to discuss entrepreneurship in East Africa.
Denham Capital, a global energy-focused private equity firm, acting through its International Power Fund, has established its new Africa Power Investment Platform, in partnership with Themis.
The South African private equity industry delivered a 10-year (in Rand terms) internal rate of return of 12.9% at September 2017, according to the latest Q3 2017 RisCura-SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Report.
The success of real estate investment trusts (REITs) in South Africa, where the market is currently valued at $16.1bn, has prompted a number of other countries, including Kenya, Morocco and Rwanda, to introduce REIT legislation of their own.
