Pan-African private equity house Kingdom Zephyr has completed a EUR14.3m investment in Thunnus Overseas Group, a producer and distributor of canned tuna in Africa with operations in Cot
Pan-African private equity house Kingdom Zephyr has completed a EUR14.3m investment in Thunnus Overseas Group, a producer and distributor of canned tuna in Africa with operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar and France.
It is the second investment from the firm’s Pan African Investment Partners II fund.
Kingdom Zephyr is investing alongside Emerging Capital Partners on the transaction.
Thunnus Overseas exports nearly all of its production to Europe with a strong market share in France. The company’s key customers include Auchan, Carrefour and Leclerc. The company also supplies to the catering and restaurant industry under its own brand, Pompon Rouge.
Thunnus Overseas is majority owned by Mohamed Khachab, an Ivorian-Lebanese businessman in Cote d’Ivoire, who has strong experience in the canned tuna and fishing industries.
‘The deal will help Thunnus Overseas consolidate its operations, reorganise itself into a more institutionalised business with improved corporate governance standards, and expand into new markets in Europe and the Middle East and North Africa region,’ says Sofiane Lahmar, a London-based partner at Kingdom Zephyr.
‘It also clearly demonstrates our concerted commitment to seek investments across Africa and in diverse sectors as well as our interest in the food processing industry where African companies can leverage their global competitive advantage in terms of better access to raw materials and lower production costs.’
Kofi Bucknor, a managing partner at the firm, adds: ‘Given the current uncertainty in global markets, our investment in Thunnus Overseas underlines our confidence in Africa’s potential and in its management and business prospects. The combination of Africa’s competitive advantages in tuna processing and strong management capacity with proven industrial expertise makes this investment attractive.’
