New Delhi, June 6 -- Mediterrania Capital Partners (MCP), a Malta-based private equity firm that manages over $800 million in assets and deploys growth capital in mid-sized African companies, has marked the final close of its fourth mid-cap investment vehicle.
The Ta' Xbiex -headquartered PE firm has secured commitments worth €600 million ($686 million) for its fourth fund, Mediterrania Capital IV Mid Cap (MC IV), which will back small and medium enterprises and mid-cap businesses across North and West Africa, with selective investments in the broader Pan-African region. This likely includes co-investment commitments from its limited partners.
Mediterrania, which has offices in Abidjan, Barcelona, Casablanca, Cairo, and Mauritius, initially targeted to raise €350 million for the fourth fund, with a hard cap of €400 million.
Fund IV aims to invest primarily in healthcare/pharmaceuticals, transportation, logistics, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), education, and financial services.
"The final close of MC IV at €600 million is a major milestone that enables us to continue deploying our investment strategy across the continent, with a strong focus on healthcare, financial services and FMCG - sectors where we see significant growth potential in the coming years," said Hatim Ben Ahmed, managing partner at MCP.
The fund aims to back 10 companies, with about 25% to be allocated to West African countries. The portfolio will likely comprise five investments in Morocco, two-three investments in Egypt, one in Algeria, and the remaining three in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 10-year closed-ended fund aims to acquire substantial minority or majority stakes, including in pre-IPO companies. It would target companies with solid market positioning and strong potential to scale regionally and continent-wide.
"The successful final close of MC IV underlines our limited partners' ongoing commitment to the African continent and their confidence in our ability to generate significant long-term value," said Albert Alsina, founder and CEO of Mediterrania Capital Partners.
With over 75% of the fund set to be deployed in less than four years, Alsina said the firm saw "abundant opportunities to support outstanding companies that are transforming their industries across Africa."
Key backers for the fourth fund include German development finance institution KfW DEG, the European Investment Bank (EIB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and British International Investment (BII). KfG DEG is a returning LP, which had earlier backed its previous two outings with anchor investments.
DEG has also co-invested in a few companies with MCP. These include Tunisian pasta producer Societe Meuniere de Tunisie, Moroccan construction company TGCC, Algerian pharmaceutical company Biopharm, and Egyptian platform of diagnostic imaging centers Cairo Scan and MetaMed.
Alsina told VCCircle in an interview last year that Mediterrania had raised about three-fourths of the fund by September 2024 from European and African institutional investors and private family offices.
The firm has already committed capital across five deals from MC IV, including two deployments. It has committed $215 million, about half of the hard cap for MC IV.
The fund has deployed capital in Moroccan pharmaceutical major Laprophan and Moroccan independent money transfer provider Cash Plus. It invested in Laprophan along with Germany's development finance institutions, DEG, Proparco, and FMO.
The fund aims to invest in ticket sizes ranging $32 million to $109 million.
Mediterrania, which currently manages a portfolio of eight companies, was established in November 2012 as a spin-off from Riva y Garcia ("RyG"), the team that launched MC I in 2008. Its managing partner, Albert Alsina, led the establishment of MCP. It invests in African SMEs with an annual turnover between $21 million and $320 million.
Its portfolio companies from MC III fund include Tunisia's food retail operator Aziza and diagnostic imaging platform RayLab.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.