Verdant Capital has been selected the best local financial adviser for 2021 by Private Equity Africa. Private Equity Africa, or PEA, is a leading publication for African and international private equity investors.
The PEA awards, now in their tenth year, are the ultimate achievement in the African private equity industry.
An independent team of 20 judges, including representatives from CDC, DEG, EBRD, IFC, Mbuyu Capital Partners, Wimmer Family Office, 27four Investment Managers, and Family Office Data Alliance, chose the final winners.
The award recognizes Verdant Capital’s private equity, private credit, and fintech businesses, as well as the transactions it completed throughout the period.
Landmark private equity-related transactions completed by Verdant Capital in 2021 include
- The USD 80 million equity capital raise for pan-African telecoms business
- WIOCC raised from African Capital Alliance
- The sale of Nigerian fintech, Baxi to MFS Africa, a portfolio company of AfricInvest and Lun Partners
- The sale of General Cargo for Kibo Partners
- The USD 10 million capital raise for Retail Capital, portfolio company of APIS, Crossfin and FutureGrowth
- The USD 8 million capital raise for Ghanaian fintech Zeepay, invested by I&P. Verdant Capital’s private equity franchise has enjoyed success across East, West and Southern Africa.
The award comes on the heels of a similar one from Africa Global Funds, which named Verdant Capital Best Independent Investment Bank – Pan-Africa – 2021 for the second year in a row.
Verdant Capital is witnessing a lot of private equity mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity right now, both in its own pipeline and in the market as a whole.
Exits from fund vintages from earlier in the decade, as well as consolidation by and among private equity-backed enterprises, are driving this trend.
Verdant Capital anticipates its private equity M&A operations to be much stronger in 2022.
Verdant Capital has announced three more fintech transactions in the last weeks of 2021, completing off a successful year.
Verdant Capital helped South African-based emerging markets insurtech Briisk and Botswana-based pan-African risk-carrying insurtech Pan-African Risk-Carrying insurtech on their respective capital raises in the insurtech sector.
Tugende, a technology-enabled MSME asset financing business in East Africa, was advised by Verdant Capital on a USD 16 million capital raise.
Tugende is a Partech and M54 portfolio firm. These three successful transactions bring Verdant Capital’s overall number of successful fintech transactions in Africa to eight in 2021.