Evolution One Fund, a ZAR700m clean technology private equity fund, has invested ZAR51.8m (GBP4.6m) into South African waste management company EnviroServ Waste Management.
The fund’s investment supports the enhancement of black economic empowerment in respect of EnviroServ’s ownership structure.
Wayne Keast, managing partner of Evolution One Fund, says: “The structure of our investment instrument provides the fund’s investors with visibility over investment returns and, together with our alignment and collaboration with one of the largest waste companies in Africa, makes this an attractive investment for the fund.”
Established in 1979, EnviroServ is now the largest waste management company in South Africa. EnviroServ currently operates six hazardous waste landfills in Southern Africa. In November 2008 EnviroServ was de-listed from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and has until now been owned privately with ABSA Capital Private Equity being a large shareholder. The company has clients and operations located throughout the Southern African Development Community region and in the Middle East.
Des Gordon, chief executive officer of EnviroServ, says: “Evolution One Fund brings to EnviroServ substantive value addition through its status as the first clean technology and environmental private equity fund in Africa. We are looking forward to working with the Evolution One Fund team on future co-investment opportunities.”
Inspired Evolution Investment Management is adviser to Evolution One Fund. Its chief investment officer Campbell Barnes says: “This investment is completely aligned to the fund’s mandate to invest into leading commercially viable enterprises in Southern Africa where the deployment of clean technologies and related services can be accelerated. Inspired Evolution has been very impressed by the depth of the sector-specific skills and experience evident within the EnviroServ management team and we believe that going forward this investment also creates compelling new opportunities for preferential and strategic access to future EnviroServ transactions and acquisitions.”
Inspired Evolution has raised this first USD94m fund for deployment into clean technologies focussed on new energy and the environment located throughout South Africa and SADC region countries. The fund’s investors include the IFC, Castleway Properties, the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund and development funds from Norway, Switzerland and Finland. The African Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation of Southern Africa are also investors.
