Private Equity Africa has named Verdant Capital (Verdant-Cap.com) as the best local Financial Adviser for 2021.
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 pinnacle of 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 time.
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 and the USD 8 million capital raise for Ghanaian fintech Zeepay, invested by I&P.
The private equity division of Verdant Capital has had great success in 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 seeing 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.
The firm has announced three more fintech transactions in the last weeks of 2021, capping off a successful year.
In East Africa, Verdant Capital advised technology-enabled MSME-asset financing business, Tugende on a USD 16 million capital raise. Tugende is a portfolio company of Partech and M54.