The Editorial Team |

Nigeria edging closer to China — Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Lagos, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Buhari’s recent trip to China generated impressive headlines on funding. If the whole $6bn infrastructure loan is disbursed, it could give a significant boost to Nigeria’s productivity. However, in the short term, the focus is on some important details of the currency swap arrangement and to what extent it can alleviate the pressure on Nigeria’s FX reserves. CBN lauds currency swap with China, but important details are missing The…

Private Equity | The Abraaj Group exits Unimed via an IPO on the Tunis Stock

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Tunis, Tunisia, Capital Markets in Africa: The Abraaj Group (‘Abraaj’ or the ‘Group’), a leading investor operating in global growth markets, today announced that it has successfully exited its investment in leading Tunisian pharmaceutical company Unité de fabrication de médicaments (‘Unimed’ or the ‘Company’), through an initial public offering (‘IPO’) on the Tunis Stock Exchange. The Abraaj Group invested in Unimed through one of its Funds in 2011. Unimed represents the first IPO this year on…

Nigeria Says $15 Billion Stolen in Security Spending Scams

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said about $15 billion was lost by the previous administration to fraudulent security spending scams, almost three times more than was previously estimated by the government. Osinbajo, who along with President Muhammadu Buhari defeated Goodluck Jonathan in elections last year on an anti-corruption campaign, said that the figure had only been discovered a few days ago, dwarfing the previous estimate of $5.5 billion allegedly misappropriated from contracts to buy defense equipment to…

IMF Says Sub-Saharan Africa Nations Must Contain Budget Gaps

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Sub-Saharan African nations need to contain their fiscal deficits to avoid becoming more vulnerable to external events, the International Monetary Fund said. “If deficits are not curbed, these countries will be left without buffers and, worse still, remain vulnerable to a financing crisis should external financing conditions get even more difficult,” the Washington-based lender said in its Regional Economic Outlook on Tuesday. African countries from Ghana to Mozambique have approached the…

Private Equity | Abraaj Said to Seek Up to $300 Million Value in Egypt Health IPO

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — Buyout firm Abraaj Group is seeking a valuation of as much as $300 million for a group of hospitals it plans to list on the Egyptian stock exchange, according to two people familiar with the matter. An initial public offering for Cleopatra Hospital Co., which includes four private hospitals in the North African country, may take place as soon as this month, the people said, asking not to be identified…

Private Equity | Private Equity Firms Bid Up Africa M&A Prices on Record Funds

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LAGOS, Nigeria, Capital Markets in Africa — The prices private equity firms pay for stakes in African companies are the highest in six years, driven by record fundraising and competition for the continent’s expanding middle class. The median price for buyouts in 2015 increased to more than seven times the ratio of a company’s value to its earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortization, compared with 5.4 times in 2012, Cape Town-based RisCura Solutions (Pty) Ltd. said…

South Africa Reserve Bank Sees Medium to High Risk of Credit-Rating Cut to Junk

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Johannesburg, South Africa, Capital Markets in Africa — There is a medium to high probability that South Africa’s debt will be downgraded to non-investment status, according to the country’s central bank. A cut may lead to capital outflows, affect the government’s rand-denominated debt, increase the cost of funding and reduce credit to the private sector, the Pretoria-based South African Reserve Bank said in its Financial Stability Review on Tuesday. Spreads on credit-default swaps would also widen, corporate profits…

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