Wednesday, November 14, 2012

The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund, The Carlyle Group and Standard Chartered Private Equity Invest $210m in Export Trading


The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund, The Carlyle Group and Standard
  Chartered Private Equity Invest $210m in Export Trading Group, a Global
  Agricultural Supply Chain Manager

   Strategic partnership will accelerate expansion of ETG’s business across
 Sub-Saharan Africa, India, China and South-East Asia by leveraging Carlyle’s
    global platform and The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Funds’s regional
                                  expertise

 Investment will enhance ETG’s ability to connect African smallholder farmers
                        to consumers around the world

Business Wire

DAR ES SALAM, Tanzania & JOHANNESBURG -- November 14, 2012

The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund and Global Alternative Asset Manager
The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) today announced that they will make a strategic
minority investment $210 m in Export Trading Group (ETG), an African
agricultural commodities supply chain manager. This is the first investment by
Carlyle’s Sub-Saharan Africa Fund and the Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund.
Standard Chartered’s Africa Private Equity division (SCPE), the first private
equity investor in ETG, is increasing its investment from January 2012 and
ETG’s founders have also subscribed for additional equity. The transaction is
expected to close in November 2012.

Marlon Chigwende, Managing Director and Co-Head of the Carlyle Sub-Saharan
Africa Fund, said “This is a remarkable opportunity to invest in a business
with a proven model that is highly scalable, has delivered impressive
financial performance and has tremendous development impact on Africa and its
economies. Carlyle has a strong track record of helping companies in emerging
markets become highly competitive, global companies. We look forward to
accelerating ETG’s growth, building value for its shareholders and supporting
African smallholder farmers.”

Herc van Wyk, CEO of Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, said “ETG offers
a unique combination of strong management and access to both the agriculture
supply chain in Africa as well as key markets in China and India. We look
forward to supporting the expansion of the company’s supply chain footprint
and believe that it offers an exciting growth opportunity.”

Founded in 1967, ETG owns and manages a vertically-integrated agriculture
supply chain with operations in procurement, processing, warehousing,
transportation, distribution and merchandising. ETG has more than 7,000
employees across 30 African countries and operates 26 processing plants and
600 warehouses. ETG connects African smallholder farmers to consumers around
the world by procuring, processing and distributing agricultural commodities
including maize, pulses, wheat, rice, cashew nuts, soya, fertilizer, sugar,
coffee and tea.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, ETG procured and distributed nearly
1.4 million metric tons of 25 different commodities. Eighty-percent of the
Company’s Africa-originated stock was procured from smallholder farmers.
Individually, these farmers have no opportunity to integrate into the global
economy. However, ETG consolidates hundreds of thousands of farmers into a
supply chain and creates the scale and efficiency necessary to be globally
competitive. ETG is committed to the economic and social development of the
smallholder farmers and the regions in which they live.

Ketan Patel, Managing Director of ETG, said, “We are excited to partner with
The Carlyle Group and Pembani Remgro and extend our relationship with Standard
Chartered Private Equity. The new capital will allow us to expand operations
across Sub-Saharan Africa, India, China and South-East Asia and create new
markets for African smallholder farmers.”

Ronald Tamale, a Director at SCPE, added “We are delighted to welcome The
Carlyle Group and Pembani Remgro into the shareholding of ETG. As both a bank
and private-equity investor, Standard Chartered has been supporting the growth
and development of ETG for many years. The introduction of these two new
shareholders will accelerate our collective efforts to build a world-class
global business.”

About Export Trading Group

ETG owns and manages a vertically-integrated agriculture supply chain across
the African subcontinent with operations spanning procurement, processing,
warehousing, transport, distribution and merchandising. The company prides
itself on connecting smallholder farmers to the global economy and the global
economy back to smallholder farmers through a value chain that operates
between the farm gates of emerging markets and supermarket shelves around the
world.

ETG owns and manages the supply chain from start to finish and is able to
maximise efficiencies at every stage of the continuum by matching market
origination capacities in one area with market consumption patterns in
another. In FY2012, ETG procured and distributed almost 1.4 million metric
tonnes of 25 different commodities including maize, pulses, wheat, rice,
sugar, oilseeds, cashew nuts, coffee, tea, fertiliser and farm implements.
Eighty percent of the African-originated stock was procured at the farm gate
level. For more information visit: www.etgworld.com.

About The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund

The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund was recently established as a
partnership between Phuthuma Nhleko and Remgro Limited. It is structured as a
long term fund and seeks to invest equity in infrastructure and related
opportunities across the African continent.

Phuthuma Nhleko is currently chairman of the Pembani Group, which has
interests in the cement, mining and petroleum industries, and is the former
Group CEO of the MTN Group. During his ten years at the helm of MTN, the group
increased operations from five countries in Africa to 21 countries in Africa
and the Middle East, with over 165 million subscribers.

Remgro Limited is a South African investment holding company and its interests
consist mainly of investments in the following industries: banking and
financial services, medical services, food, wine and spirits, petroleum
products, glass products, shipping, freight and logistics, media, and
technology. The Company is listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange
(JSE) operated by the JSE Limited in South Africa under the "Industrials
Diversified Industrials" sector, with the share code "REM". For more
information visit: www.remgro.com.

About The Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager with $156
billion of assets under management in 99 funds and 63 fund of fund vehicles as
of June 30, 2012. Carlyle's purpose is to invest wisely and create value.
Carlyle invests across four segments – Corporate Private Equity, Real Assets,
Global Market Strategies and Fund of Funds Solutions – in Africa, Asia,
Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America. Carlyle
has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense &
government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services,
healthcare, industrial, technology & business services, telecommunications &
media and transportation. The Carlyle Group employs more than 1,300 people in
32 offices across six continents. For more information visit: www.carlyle.com.

About the Carlyle Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) Team

Established in March 2012, the Carlyle SSA team makes buyout and growth
capital investments in private and public companies from offices in
Johannesburg, SA and Lagos, Nigeria. The Carlyle SSA team focuses on
transactions where it has a distinctive competitive advantage and can create
tangible value for companies in which it invests, through industry
specialization, deployment of human capital and access to Carlyle’s global
network. Carlyle’s target industries include consumer goods, financial
services, agribusiness, and energy.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group. It has operated
for over 150 years in some of the world's most dynamic markets and earns
around 90 per cent of its income and profits in Asia, Africa and the Middle
East. This geographic focus and commitment to developing deep relationships
with clients and customers has driven the Bank’s growth in recent years.
Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong stock exchanges
as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

In Africa the Bank has a history of 150 years, a presence in 16 countries, a
network of over 180 branches and more than 7,000 staff. Standard Chartered is
well-positioned to facilitate and support economically enhancing trade and
investment corridors intra-Africa, and between Africa and the rest of the
world.

About Standard Chartered Private Equity

Since 2008, Standard Chartered’s Africa Private Equity team has invested
nearly US$600 million into entrepreneurial African companies across multiple
sectors. The team is committed to supporting strong management teams who
demonstrate positive growth potential within their area of expertise. The
Africa Private Equity team, with offices in Johannesburg and Lagos,
complements the Bank’s international private equity capabilities in Asia and
the Middle East.

Contact:

Export Trading Group
Griffin Murray,  +255 684 224 618
Griffin.Murray@etgworld.com
or
The Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund
Herc van Wyk,  +27 (0)11 290 0230
hvw@primco.co.za
or
The Carlyle Group
Catherine Armstrong,  +44 20 7894 1632
Catherine.Armstrong@carlyle.com
or
Liz Gill,  +1 202 729 5385
Elizabeth.Gill@carlyle.com
or
Standard Chartered
Lauren Callie,  +27 (0)82 894 5581
Lauren.Callie@sc.com

source

No comments:

Post a Comment