Alternative asset manager, Duet Group has made a significant investment into Dashen Brewery Plc. The investment will take the form of an equity injection from the newly formed Duet Beverages Africa Ltd, which will be managed by the Duet Africa Private Equity team, together with Vasari as the industrial partner. Proceeds of the investment will be used to expand the Company’s capacity and enhance distribution channels.
The Ethiopian brewery sector experienced significant M&A activity in 2011, with international operators paying more than USD400 million for three state-operated breweries. Duet believes this investment reflects the potential of the Ethiopian brewery sector, which has grown by over 25% per annum over the last five years, and is expected to continue to grow in line with Ethiopia’s double digit GDP growth. Ethiopia’s GDP growth is expected to be the fastest in Africa and third fastest in the world
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Bereket Simon, Board Chairman of the TIRET Group, says: “In the last eight years, Ethiopia has successfully enacted five year plans designed to foster a business environment in which businesses are able to successfully operate; Dashen’s ability to attract, Duet Group and Vasari demonstrates this. This transaction marks only the beginning of Ethiopia’s bright future in terms of attracting more FDIs.”
Henry Gabay (pictured), Co-Founder and Co-Chairman, Duet Group, says: “The economic performance of Ethiopia over the last eight years has been nothing short of outstanding. We are very excited about consumer-driven businesses in the country. We have been very impressed by what has been achieved at Dashen. We believe Duet and Vasari will add tremendous value for the next growth phase of the Company. We are also proud of having the TIRET Group as a partner, with whom we will evaluate other opportunities in various sectors.”
Vivian Imerman, Founder and Chairman of Vasari, says: “Dashen and Royal are strong brands, with huge potential. We are encouraged by what we know about Ethiopia, and look forward to creating a flourishing business.”
Tadesse Kassa, CEO of the TIRET Group, says: “We are pleased to welcome our new partners to Ethiopia. We expect them to enhance our capabilities by bringing international sector expertise and management skills to the business and to the country. With this investment, we plan to focus on our technical expertise in a rapidly growing market.“
The deal was led by Saad Aouad, CIO of Duet Africa Private Equity, Demissie A. Demissie Managing Director of Duet Ethiopia, Afsane Jetha, Director at Duet Africa Private Equity and Neil J Everitt, Managing Partner at Duet Beverages Africa. Norton Rose LLP and PwC have also advised on this transaction.
