August 6, 2018

Dubai-based investment firm SOKOTRA Capital has led a consortium to acquire 100 percent of L’Aquaculture Tunisienne (AT), the largest seabass and seabream hatchery and nursery in North Africa, for an undisclosed amount.

Founded over 40 years ago and with more than US$100 billion of transaction history, SOKOTRA focuses on investments across the Mediterranean, Africa, and emerging Asian markets in agriculture, aquaculture, food manufacturing, processing, and distribution,  hospitality, and non-food retail.

“We are pursuing additional investments in the strategic agriculture and aquaculture sectors. It is all about efficiency and about feeding the growing population,” said  Albert Momdjian, founder and CEO of SOKOTRA Capital, and former UBS banker. “The protein race has already started and we are very well positioned as a firm and as a team to benefit from it.”

Founded by North African businessman Si M’hamed Driss in Sousse, Tunisia in 1988, AT has the capacity to produce 20 million seabass and seabream fingerlings, and 1,500 tons of fish per year. For 30 years the company has continually served to meet the demand in both domestic and export markets for these fish, and has become highly respected by both local and overseas buyers.

This deal is a reflection of SOKOTRA’s goal of building out a strong portfolio of highly promising agriculture and aquaculture businesses throughout Africa and Southeast Asia.

“We are extremely pleased with this acquisition,” said Momdjian. “After having reviewed several opportunities in this sector, we decided to focus on AT because of its growth potential and its unique value proposition. AT has a highly skilled team with extensive and unrivaled experience in the industry. Tunisia remains, and despite the recent challenges, a very attractive and friendly destination for foreign direct investments”

SOKOTRA acquired AT with ambitious plans already in place to expand its business across Africa, into the Mediterranean basin. These ambitions are shared by AT’s CEO Karim Garnaoui, who added, “This is an exciting new chapter for AT, building on the achievements of the past three decades and having successfully navigated a challenging time for the aquaculture sector over the past few years.”

“Today, and backed by the new investors, AT has the capacity to become one of the leading Mediterranean basin aquaculture companies. The in-depth knowledge of the industry, supported by the strong financial and strategic capabilities of the new investors, can only propel AT to become one of the best companies in the sector.”

Africa and Aquaculture

The global aquaculture market is forecast to be worth US$202.96 billion by 2020, according to a study released by Grand View Research. Global demand is expected to climb from 69,230 kilo tons in 2013 to 80,400 kilo tons by 2020, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 2 percent between 2014 and 2020.

And despite its challenges, Africa, with its young, booming, increasingly urban, and upwardly mobile population, is a prime geography for growth in the industry.

Reflecting the potential return on investment in the sector on the continent, Dutch pure-play, sustainable aquaculture investment firm Aqua-Spark announced the launch of a $15 million Africa-focused aquaculture investment fund last June in Cape Town.

With backing secured from cornerstone investor Msingi – an East African investment initiative founded by UK billionaire Lord David Sainsbury to invest in high-growth potential East African businesses, including agribusinesses – the fund plans to invest in all aspects of the farm production of tilapia and catfish.

Msingi (which is Swahili for ‘foundation’) is managed by the Gatsby Foundation, which in 2011 partnered to launch the agriculturally-focused African Agricultural Capital Fund (AACF) private equity fund. Other investors in the fund – which is managed by Uganda-based Pearl Capital Partners – include the Rockefeller Foundation, senior debt from J.P. Morgan, and USAID.

With an ultimate goal of creating a “thriving sub-Saharan aquaculture sector”, FishUpdate reported that Aqua-Spark co-founders Amy Novogratz and Mike Velings are actively seeking additional investors for the fund, which should be active within the next 12 to 18 months.

-Lynda Kiernan