Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management, a pan-African private equity investment firm, has successfully raised more than $325 million for its second fund, Pan African Investment Partners II.
The fund is targeting up to $500 million in capital commitments and will make growth capital investments in profitable, growing businesses throughout Africa.
Its portfolio companies need to operate or plan to do so in more than one African country. The new fund is a follow-on to PAIP I, its first fund, which launched in 2003 with $122.5 million in capital. PAIP I has made five investments to date in banking, mobile telecom, insurance and consumer finance.
Capital commitments to the latest fund have come from a broad range of development finance institutions, as well as institutional and private investors from around the world including the Washington DC-based International Finance Corporation, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and Dutch Development Bank FMO.
Kingdom Holding Company, an investment company headed by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia, is the largest investor in the fund, having committed 50 percent of the capital.
Kingdom Zephyr manages the investments of PAIP II and PAIP I from offices in Accra in Ghana, Johannesburg, London and New York.
Kofi Bucknor, managing partner of Kingdom Zephyr, said in a statement: “We continue to see strong economic fundamentals across the region and see excellent opportunities to invest in growing companies with sound business models and good management.”
Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management is a joint venture between Zephyr Management, a New York based asset management firm, and Kingdom Holding Company, headed by the prince. Zephyr Management and Kingdom Holding have been investing in Africa for more than 13 years.
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