SOUTH AFRICA – Agri-Vie Fund I, the Africa food and agribusiness investment fund managed by the pan-African private equity investment firm, EXEO Capital, has announced its exit from InteliChem, the holding company of Terason and Technichem.
The InteliChem Group of companies is a leading provider of crop protection solutions, specialised plant nutrition and seeds to the agricultural industry and related peripherals through its subsidiaries Terason and Technichem.
Agri-Vie had acquired a 49.9% stake in InteliChem in 2016 which it has sold to Masimong Group Holdings, an investment holding company.
“Through transferring our interest in InteliChem to a pre-eminent black empowerment group, we were also able to contribute to economic transformation in the South African agribusiness sector while the company has gained a valuable partner,” said EXEO Capital partner Izak Strauss.
Through the investment, Agri-Vie was able to broaden its network and build excellent relationships in the sector, while providing capital to InteliChem for growth and assisting the company in identifying and evaluating growth opportunities by its active board participation.
In the face of challenging operating conditions for InteliChem, Strauss says that the final return on investment was in line with expected returns on private equity investments.
“The growth of the business was definitely affected by the recent droughts in South Africa. However, we were satisfied with the final return on investment achieved.”
“The contribution of Agri-Vie as shareholder of InteliChem was very constructive. We managed to grow the business substantially during the investment period and Agri-Vie provided valuable strategies input as part of this process,” commented Gideon Hefer, InteliChem CEO.
EXEO Capital is a pan- African, mid-market private equity investment manager with operations in nine countries in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Operating from offices in Cape Town and Nairobi, EXEO Capital manages the Agri-Vie Funds I and II, focused on the food & agri sector of the region since 2008.
The firm tracks complementary growth investment opportunities in the region with a view to future investment platforms.
Some of the investments under Agri-Vie Fund I include Dew Crisp in South Africa, New Forests Company (NFC) in Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania, African Spirits Group (Asilia) in Tanzania and Kenya, Kariki Group in Kenya, Cape Olive in South Africa, and Mtanga Foods in Tanzania
Other investments that the fund has already exited include, Africa Juice in Ethiopia, Fairfield Dairy in South Africa, Hygrotech in South Africa, HIK Abalone Farm in South and Vida Oils in Mozambique and South Africa.
