Economy
Oando, KPMG, Others Win at 2017 Private Equity Africa Awards
By Dipo Olowookere
Organisers of the 2017 edition of the Private Equity Africa Awards have announced winners of the annual event.
In its sixth edition, over 120 self-entries, complemented by recommendations from the PEA editorial team and supported by industry data were received.
The awards saw 22 firms collect much coveted accolades at the 6th Annual PEA Awards Gala Dinner hosted at London’s prestigious Savoy hotel on June 1, which attracted about 250 industry professionals.
The recipient of this year’s Outstanding Leadership Award was Ziad Oueslati, co-founding Partner at AfricInvest, for his contributions to the growth of the industry. This is the only award given to an individual and voted on by industry peers.
One of the evening’s highlights was the LP Award that went to CDC for its work in developing the private equity industry in Africa. This is the first time an LP Investor has been recognised at the awards.
The much coveted Sub-Saharan Africa House of the Year was picked up by Development Partners International (DPI) – which also had a win in the Portfolio Company category, for its social impact in HomeChoice, a consumer retailer based in South Africa.
In the house category Investec Asset Management held on to its crown as Credit Investor of the Year, also taking the Credit Deal of the Year for IHS Nigeria.
Helios continued its reign as lead dealer in the transactions category, walking away with the Large Cap Deal of the Year for Oando Gas & Power. The Mid Cap Deal of the Year went to 8 Miles for Beloxxi, while Apis Partners took Small Cap Deal of the Year for Direct Pay Online. This is the first time Apis wins a PEA award.
In the Advisory category, Clifford Chance continued to reign as king in the legal space, winning the much contested Overall Legal Advisor of the Year, covering aggregated advisor work across funds and deals. Clifford Chance also scooped the Deals Legal Advisor of the Year, while Funds Legal Advisor of the Year went to Webber Wentzel.
KPMG won special recognition with Global Financial Advisor of the Year, while, Abax Securities was awarded Fund Administrator of the Year, a first-time win for the firm.
Of special note was the newly introduced Venture Philanthropy Africa Award that went to Helios Investment Partners for its corporate social work in the continent.
The 2017 PEA Awards winners were chosen by an independent panel of leading industry participants with representation from CDC, HarbourVest, IFC, LPEQ, Hamilton Lane, Rede Partners, Aon Hewitt, Swedfund, Sarona Asset Management and Cebile Capital.
Award shortlists were compiled in partnership with the London Business School Private Equity Institute.
Commenting on the awards, Gail Mwamba, the Awards Chair and Managing Editor at Private Equity Africa, said: “The 2017 Awards reflect the continuing dynamism of the private equity market in Africa, showcasing some of the continent’s most transformative private equity investment deals and advisory work over the past year. We were hugely impressed by the calibre of all the entries this year, a remarkable achievement against challenging conditions across the continent.”
“Congratulations to the winners. The awards were a fitting sequel to the LP-GP Summit, a day of debate and discussion around what lies ahead for the next decade in Africa. We can certainly look forward to gathering again next year.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
