Citadel in Egyptian food bolt-on

Gozour, a consumer foods platform set up by Citadel Capital and other co-investors, has acquired Nile Company for Food Industries (Enjoy) for an undisclosed sum from Haykala Investment Managers.

Based in Egypt, Enjoy manufactures dairy products and fruit juices. The company is presently the second largest producer of packaged milk and juices and the fourth largest producer of packaged yoghurt in the country, Citadel said.

Enjoy will leverage Gozour’s distribution networks and joint sourcing of packaging and raw materials such as sugar, fruit and milk. The firm said the company’s products also complement those of Gozour’s current portfolio companies, such as cheese producer El Misryyeen.

Gozour has three main business lines: agri-foods and dairy, consumer goods and intermediate goods such as corn, sugar and flour. Its other portfolio companies include confectioner Rashidi El-Mizan, produce exporter El-Aguizy International, specialty foods producer Mom’s Foods and the Egyptian Company for Powdered Milk.

Milk: Citadel adds on

The agri-foods sector in the Middle East North African region is heavily fragmented, which has provided opportunities for investors to introduce new levels of specialisation and economies of scale to the market, Citadel said. Earlier this month, Dina Farms secured an EGP200 million ($36 million; €25 million) loan from three Egyptian banks to support its expansion plans.

Haykala is a private equity firm founded in 2005 by Egyptian bank Commercial International Bank. It is currently investing out of an EGP347 million fund focused on turnarounds, out of which it acquired Enjoy in 2006.