Nairobi, Kenya Nov 1 – Centum Investment Company’s private equity wing has set aside a KSh5 billion war chest targeting acquisitions in diverse sectors of the economy.
The NSE-listed company is scouting for already profitable businesses that are looking for growth capital or where business owners want to cash in on part of their equity investment.
Centum Capital Partners, a wholly owned and independently managed subsidiary of Centum, has in the past acquired significant stakes in firms operating in diverse sectors including financial services, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), manufacturing, energy, education and technology.
“We are building a promising pipeline of deals, we’re in talks with a number of investee targets that we hope to conclude in the coming months,” said Fred Murimi, Managing Partner of Centum Capital Partners (CCP).
“Three of the targeted firms are based in Kenya while two are in neighbouring countries,” Mr Murimi added.
CCP has set a target to invest at least KSh1 billion annually over the next five years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has made valuations attractive for private equity funds as investors seek capital to navigate the new normal and take advantage of emerging business opportunities.
Centum’s current private equity portfolio worth an estimated KSh9 billion is spread across East Africa.
It includes household brands such as Longhorn Publishers, Isuzu East Africa, Nas Servair and Sidian Bank.
Centum’s private equity portfolio has had considerable growth which has been realized over time. Over the last 10 years, Centum had deployed Kes.15 billion into its private equity portfolio and so far realized Ksh37 billion, with the remaining portfolio valued at Ksh9 billion.
Some of the recent notable exits include Almasi Beverages, UAP Insurance and Kenya Wine Agencies Limited.
In addition to offering growth capital, Centum leverages on prior experience to help businesses grow revenue, diversify products, diversify geographically, strengthen corporate governance, enhance organizational effectiveness and manage risks.
Investee businesses benefit from having purely local teams that understand the local economic terrain and has deep networks and expertise in growing value of for the owners.
“We take a long-term view to investing in businesses. We take elections and other such other events as short-term disruptions that do not cause us to hold back from investing,” said Mr Murimi.
