Amethis and Metier to invest in East African firm, Kenafric Industries

Johannesburg (Capital Markets in Africa) – Private equity firms Amethis Finance and Metier have partnered to acquire a minority stake in Kenafric food industry.

The three companies, Kenafric, Amethis and Metier have been working together on a promising acquisition.

Mikul Shah, Chief Executive Director of Kenafric Industries said the firm has reached critical size and intends to expand into a regional packaged food enterprise, leveraging on its existing strengths to broaden its product range and offering.

Shah said the East African market offers a unique opportunity for acquisitions and strategic partnerships. The aim is to supply the entire range of snacking products in a kiosk through adjacencies and brand extensions.

Kenafric sells around 45 per cent of its products outside Kenya and has grown to emerge as a major fast-moving consumer goods group in East Africa.

The firm has diversified into confectionery, footwear, culinary and stationery manufacturing. The transaction is confined to the confectionery and culinary business.

The Shah family will continue to operate the footwear and stationery business separately. The company has built a strong entry based on their distribution network, strong premium brands, and a pan-African regional footprint. The Kenafric group was founded in 1987 by Velji Punja Shah and his four sons.

Kenafric has reached a critical size and now intends to expand into a regional packaged food platform. The fragmented East African market offers an opportunity for acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

The stated aim is to be able to supply the entire range of snacking products in a kiosk through adjacencies and brand extensions. Kenafric, Amethis, and Metier have been working together on an acquisitions pipeline.

“Having built a trustworthy relationship with Kenafric’s management over the past years, we are excited about this partnership which will allow Kenafric to leverage on its strong existing base to expand into a diversified packaged food platform in East Africa. Thanks to this partnership, Kenafric is now poised to engage into a new phase of its history,” says Jean-Sebastien Bergasse, the Amethis partner in charge of the project.

For Metier, a proven leader in Southern African Private Equity, this marks its first investment in Kenya. Metier enjoys a long and successful track-record in private equity investing in Southern Africa and has already realized and successfully exited similar transactions in the packaged food industry.