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Monday, 20 January 2020

AfricInvest, MDP ink partnership agreement

M&A WATCH- AfricInvest, MDP enter into ‘partnership’: Egyptian payment company Masria Digital Payments (MDP) last week signed a partnership agreement with regional private equity outfit AfricInvest to help it launch end-to-end payment processing, EFG Hermes said in a press release (pdf). The announcement by the investment bank, which acted as the financial advisor to MDP, comes less than a week after local press reports claimed that AfricInvest had acquired a 40% stake in MDP and that the transaction would be completed through a capital increase by the fund and the sale of a stake from businessman Ahmed Nafea’s 100% share. A source close to the transaction told Enterprise that the specifics of the domestic press report were “inaccurate,” but declined to disclose further details beyond confirming that AfricInvest had acquired a stake. Neither party has disclosed the terms or value of the sale.

Advisors: EFG Hermes acted as the financial advisor to MDP, while Al Tamimi & Company served as legal counsel. PwC acted as the financial advisor to AfricInvest and White & Case provided legal counsel

AfricInvest also plans to launch a new USD 250 mn fund by the end of June, fund partner Ismail Talbi told the local press, adding that the fund is targeting an eventual close at the USD 500 mn mark.

Background: AfricInvest is a Tunisia-based private equity firm which has recently entered Egypt after acquiring a stake in Carbon Holdings. MDP, meanwhile, was a Nilex-listed company until it decided to voluntarily delist its shares in 2015. When it last made a bourse filing in that year, it had EGP 10.8 mn in capital and c.EGP 10.5 mn in half-yearly earnings, Al Mal said last month.

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