New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- Old Mutual Private Equity (OMPE), the private equity investment arm of South Africa's financial services group Old Mutual, has struck a deal to acquire a pan-African private higher education network, marking the second transaction from its sixth investment vehicle.
The Cape Town-headquartered PE firm, which manages assets worth $835 million, is set to acquire a majority stake in Honoris United Universities from London-headquartered PE firm Actis through its Old Mutual Private Equity Fund VI.
Actis, the sustainable infrastructure investment arm of US-based $100-billion growth equity investor General Atlantic, launched Honoris in 2017 by bringing together leading tertiary educational institutions across North and Southern Africa.
With this deal, Actis, which manages assets worth $15.1 billion across 60 countries, will fully exit its investment.
The Honoris deal follows OMPE Fund VI's previous acquisition of Much Asphalt, Southern Africa's largest commercial asphalt producer, from JSE-listed AECI Ltd earlier this year.
Fund VI, which marked its first close in December 2023, remains open to new investments. The fund focuses on mid-market opportunities primarily in South Africa, with flexibility to allocate up to 25% elsewhere in Africa, especially East Africa. Its investment mandate includes acquiring minority equity stakes or control positions in high-quality unlisted companies.
"We are pleased to be investing in Honoris, a world-class private higher education platform. Apart from the attractive investment merits and rationale, we are particularly excited about the sheer positive impact that Honoris is able to make at scale...," said Chumani Kula, co-head of Old Mutual Private Equity.
Old Mutual Private Equity is one of South Africa's largest private equity managers and has been providing growth capital to South African companies over the last 24 years. It currently manages 10 companies in its portfolio, including retail chain Morecentral, electronic and electrical engineering equipment manufacturer Actom, travel and leisure company Tourvest, automotive products company TiAuto, and media and broadcasting company Primedia.
It has monetized 24 investments, including glass packing company Consol, FMCG manufacturing and distribution company Libstar, healthcare services provider Life Healthcare, and retail player Pepkor. While Life Healthcare is one of the largest PE IPOs, Consol and Pepkor are among the largest PE exits in the region. It has invested $646 million so far since its establishment in 2000 and delivered $1.6 billion in realized and unrealized value over 24 exits, it said.
OMPE is part of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, which manages assets worth $7.2 billion and has a portfolio of 266 companies across infrastructure, private equity, impact investing, and international private equity.
Meanwhile, Actis is currently raising Actis Long Life Infrastructure Fund II, with a $1.5 billion target. It marked the first close at $800 million and is aiming for the final close this year. The predecessor fund, which has invested across multiple infrastructure sectors, including power, transport, and logistics, raised $1.23 billion in 2018.
Actis, which currently manages a portfolio of 73 companies from 17 offices, focuses on sustainable infrastructure, particularly the energy, infrastructure, and real estate asset classes.
It has made 318 investments since its inception in 2004 and has managed 235 exits. Some of Actis' recent acquisitions include Mexican energy company Valia Energy, Dubai-based solar distribution platform Yellow Door Energy, Dubai's sustainable district cooling services provider Emicool, and Turkey's electricity distribution and retail services company Uludag Energy.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.