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Amethis Finance and Metier acquire stake in Kenafric Industries

Amethis Finance and Metier have teamed up to acquire a significant minority stake in East African packaged food business Kenafric Industries.

The Kenafric Group was founded in 1987 by Velji Punja Shah and his four sons.
 
The group has grown to emerge as a major FMCG group in East Africa, having diversified into confectionery, footwear, culinary and stationery manufacturing.
 
This transaction is limited to the confectionery and culinary business and the Shah family will continue to operate the footwear and stationery business separately.
 
Amethis has a long-standing relationship with the Shah family and the transaction developed as a result of this relationship.
 
Kenafric sells around 45 per cent of its production outside Kenya.
 
Kenafric has reached a critical size and now intends to expand into a regional packaged food platform. The fragmented East African market offers an opportunity for acquisitions and strategic partnerships. The stated aim is to be able to supply the entire range of snacking products in a kiosk through adjacencies and brand extensions. Kenafric, Amethis and Metier have been working together on an acquisitions pipeline.
 
“Having built a trustworthy relationship with Kenafric’s management over the past years, we are excited about this partnership which will allow Kenafric to leverage on its strong existing base to expand into a diversified packaged food platform in East Africa. Thanks to this partnership, Kenafric is now poised to engage into a new phase of its history," says Jean-Sebastien Bergasse, the Amethis partner in charge of the project.
 
For Metier, this marks its first investment in Kenya. Metier has a long track-record in private equity investing in Southern Africa and has already realised and exited similar transactions in the packaged food industry.
 
The Shah family is bringing along external partners to the family business for the first time, with the ambition to institutionalise the business and achieve its vision.
 
“Metier, as a partner to both the Shah family and Amethis, are glad and proud to seal a partnership with Kenafric to support the business’ future evolution while contributing to the development of the regional consumer goods sector,” says Paul Botha, Metier’s managing partner.
 
“We are excited about the partnership with Amethis and Metier. Through this investment, we will seek to leverage the deep relationships that they enjoy in the region, operational support and a strong capital base to accelerate future growth,” says Bharat Shah, chairman at Kenafric.
 
BellHouse Capital, Pratul Shah and Bowmans Law acted as the company’s transaction advisers while Anjarwala & Khanna and KPMG represented the investors. 

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