South Africa MTN is in talks to acquire Telkom SA.

Also Abu Dhabi-based Agthia Group acquires 60% of Egypt-based Auf Group, Nigeria's Moove, secures US$20 million financing facility.

Jul 18, 2022

Hello Readers,

Another interesting week of business news, M&A deals, Private Equity, and Fundraising activities that would be of interest to you.

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South Africa MTN is in talks to acquire Telkom SA.

South Africa leading Telecommunication provider MTN is in talks to acquire Telkom SA. MTN a multinational telecommunications group, with its core operations in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East is looking to consolidate its position as the number one player in south Africa telcom market. The acquisition would still be subject to the required regulatory approvals.

Why is this important:

Vodacom is South Africa’s number one and most valuable telecommunications company. MTN with 250 million retail customers is the second biggest telecom company and Telkom is the third biggest telecoms company in South Africa.
The merger would made up of a complete stock purchase or cash-and-shares.
The acquisition would make MTN the biggest telecommunication company in South Africa by subscribers user base.
The South Africa Government has a 40% take in Telkom SA.
The merger comes as South Africa starts the increased rollout of the 5G network.

M & A Actions:

Agthia Group a leading Abu Dhabi-based food and beverage company has announced a strategic acquisition of 60% of Egypt-based Auf Group, a specialised healthy snacks and coffee manufacturer and retailer.
DP World-owned Imperial has announced it has completed the strategic acquisition of a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution Ltd (AFMCG), which is part of the Chanrai Group of Companies.
African Leadership Group (ALG) has agreed to acquire Holberton a coding school with a core online platform.
Bloc, a Nigeria-based fintech and banking as a service (F/BaaS) infrastructure provider, has acquired Orchestrate ( previously called Getwallets) a wallet-as-a-service solution provider. The cash and equity acquisition position Bloc to offer to buy now pay later (BNPL) services.
Porparco Development finance institution and Ascent Rift Valley II a private equity fund has made a major investment in Diani Beach Hospital a Kenyan private healthcare facility.

Private Equity Deals :

Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries, and KLP, Norway's largest pension company have completed a US$40 million equity investment through their joint company KLP Norfund Investments in CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), a leading developer, owner, and operator of commercial and industrial renewable energy systems in Africa.
Persistent Energy Capital LLC the Kenya-based Africa's climate venture builder has announced that it has raised US$10 million in equity in its Series C round to grow its successful climate venture building business in Africa. The funding raised was led by two institutional investors, Kyuden International Corporation and FSD Africa Investments.

Bonds Issuances :

Skymark Partners Limited, a Nigerian proprietary investment company has successfully issued Series 2, 3, and 4 Commercial Papers under its established N5bn Commercial Paper Issuance Programme – raising a total sum of N3.2bn and achieving a 228% subscription. The issuance consisted of three series – a 91-day series priced at a 12.5919% discount, a 182-day series priced at a 13.3046% discount, and a 270-day series priced at a 14.1065% discount.
TrustBanc Holdings Limited (TrustBanc), the holding company of three Nigeria-regulated financial services companies, has successfully closed its series 7 and 8 Commercial Paper (CP) issue for N5.85bn under its FMDQ approved N20bn CP programme. The 181 and 269-day CPs were issued at a discount of 11.3260 and 12.2784%.

Private Credit and Loans:

Swedfund, the Swedish development finance institution, has invested a total of US$45 million in two private credit funds namely BluePeak Private Capital Fund (BluePeak) the leading Africa-based credit fund, and Vantage Mezzanine Fund IV (Vantage), this would increase the availability of long-term growth capital for mid-sized companies as they aim to scale.
Moove, the Nigerian mobility fintech, has secured a financing facility of US$20 million from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) part of the World Bank has announced a new investment of US $105 million between IFC and CRDB PLC to increase access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Tanzania and Burundi. The investment will consist of two loans made up of US$100 million which will be granted to CRDB Bank Tanzania and US$5 million to CRDB Bank Burundi.

Venture Capital Deals:

FSD Africa the specialist development agency has invested US$3.5 million in the Global inclusive tech accelerator Catalyst Fund managed by BFA Global.
Zazuu, a London-based fintech building a marketplace for remittance companies, has announced a US$2 million raise. The fundraising round saw participation from Launch Africa, Founders Factory Africa, HoaQ, Tinie Tempah, Jason Njoku, Babs Ogundeyi, and other angel investors.

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