February 2, 2017

Pan-African private equity investment firm, EXEO Capital, announced the first close of its second fund, Agri-Vie Fund II at $100 million.

Building upon the success of Agri-Vie Fund I, and launched with the continued mission of investing in food and agribusiness companies along the supply chain across sub-Saharan Africa, Fund II has already surpassed its initial funding target by 33 percent, but will remain open to investors for another year.

“The first close of Fund II is a 33 percent over-subscription on the initial target, supported by a core of Fund I investors as well as new investors,” said Herman Marais, managing partner at EXEO Capital, adding, “The Fund will remain open for additional investors for another 12 months with a target of $150 million and a hard cap of $200 million.”

Enter, EXEO

EXEO Capital was launched in March 2016 through a 50/50 joint venture between the founders of the South African private equity fund, Agri-Vie, and pan-African asset manager, STANLIB, as an entity through which to manage private equity vehicles formed to invest in strategically selected sectors.

The partnership planned to take an equity position of between 25 and 75 percent in opportunities that are closely tied to growth trends within sub-Saharan Africa, broadening investment opportunities and geographies for both parties, while the launch of EXEO Capital also added private equity to STANLIB’s alternatives offerings platform, which already included Infrastructure, High Yield Credit, and Director Property Investment.

Commenting on the partnership, Herman Marais, managing partner at Exeo Capital and Agri-Vie co-founder said, “We have found a strategic partner in STANLIB who shares our investment philosophy and will enable us to accelerate the growth and strategic diversification of our Africa private equity business, while retaining ownership and management control as an independent investment manager.”

The launch of Agri-Vie Fund II follows upon the heels of the success of the $100 million Agri-Vie Fund I, which focuses on mid-market growth investments in the sub-Saharan market, and is deployed across 12 companies across South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ethiopia, and has been “successfully unlocking value for investors while making a real and positive impact in the communities and regions it invests in,” according to Marais.

Fund II

Agri-Vie Fund II will be managed by EXEO Capital from its offices in Cape Town, Nairobi, and Mauritius, and through its presence in other key locations including Johannesburg, Dar Es Salaam, Addis Ababa, Lusaka, Kampala, and Accra.

“This strong local presence enables the investment team to understand local conditions and ensures that the best companies are selected for investment,” said Marais.

The establishment of Fund II, which was supported by a field of core Fund I investors along with new investors, was backed by Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, which has been investing with Agri-Vie Fund I since 2010.

“Agri-Vie is an important partner for Norfund,” said Kjell Roland, the fund’s CEO. “There is a considerable investment deficit in the food and agribusiness sector, and we are pleased to see that our investments in this sector also can help catalysing [sic] other private investors.”

Since its founding in 2008, Agri-Vie has built a proven investment track record that has resulted in a portfolio of strongly performing food and agribusiness companies that include dairy, beef, poultry, aquaculture, and plant proteins, condiments, fresh convenience foods, non-alcoholic beverages, and food ingredients.

“These opportunities are supported and driven by distinct structural factors and trends,” explained Patrick Mamathuba, head of alternative investments at STANLIB Asset Management, “which include rapid urbanisation [sic] leading to increasing demand for processed food products, large-scale import replacement opportunities in several of the countries where the fund operates, as well as the availability of new technologies to enable precision farming and efficient agro-processing at lower risk.”

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com