Companies
American PE company acquires Actis
Wednesday January 17 2024
Actis Chairman and Senior Partner Torbjorn Caesar. PHOTO | COURTESY
Actis, the London-based private equity firm that owns Garden City Mall, is set to be acquired by a US-based company, months after it closed its Nairobi office.
General Atlantic, which is based in New York, announced the acquisition noting that the Actis brand will, however, be retained.
The acquisition will result in the creation of a diversified, global investment platform with about $96 billion (Sh15.4 trillion) in combined assets under management. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Last May, Actis, which is based in London, announced that it would not be renewing its Cape Town and Nairobi office leases. Its Nairobi office was located at The Courtyard on General Mathenge Road.
Read: Private equity company Actis shuts Nairobi office
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Actis will become the sustainable infrastructure arm within General Atlantic’s global investment platform.
Actis will also continue to be led by its chairman and Senior Partner, Torbjorn Caesar, and will retain independence over its investment decisions and processes with its funds operating under the existing Actis brand.
This means, despite closing its Nairobi offices, Actis will still retain some presence in Kenya taking care of its investments, including Garden City Mall, Mi Vida Homes, Nairobi Fairview Hotel, Town Lodge Upper Hill and City Lodge.
Bill Ford, chairman and chief executive at General Atlantic, said the addition of Actis into the General Atlantic stable, brings under its wing a specialist in sustainable infrastructure investments, particularly in emerging markets.
“Addressing the global paradigm shift toward sustainability requires an economic transformation and a capital investment on a massive scale,” said Mr Ford.
“With the addition of Actis, we are taking a significant step forward to add a sustainable investment capability which positions General Atlantic to capture this opportunity set for our investors.”
In response to a call made by the Kenya Pension Funds Investment Consortium in December 2022 for investment proposals from companies and project sponsors, Actis outlined a plan to raise $104.6 million (Sh16.8 billion) in even split of debt and equity sale in its Garden City Mall and business park on Thika Road.
Read: Actis plans Sh10bn Garden City Mall stake sale
The private equity firm has investments in the East Africa region, including in real estate and the restaurant business where it has a presence through its ownership of Java House.
In 2022, Actis paid an aggregate of Sh3.3 billion to buy Nairobi’s Fairview Hotel, Town Lodge Upper Hill, City Lodge Hotel at Two Rivers Mall and City Lodge Hotel Dar es Salaam from South Africa’s City Lodge Hotel Group.
The sale of the hotels came after two difficult years of reduced occupancies and revenue, said City Lodge.
Actis is meanwhile betting on medium-term growth of regional hotel bookings.
The hospitality industry, which was witnessing increased competition, took a major hit when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in March 2020.
The private equity firm has exited several companies in Kenya including Tsavo Power and vehicle service firm Autoxpress. Among the backers of Actis is the British International Investment (BII) which previously traded as CDC Group.
