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Leading private equity firm Development Partners International (DPI) has announced the sale of a 31-percent stake in Food Concepts Plc, the operator of Chicken Republic, to African Capital Alliance (ACA), a prominent Africa-focused investment firm.
ACA is a leading pan-African alternative investment firm focused on managing investments in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has more than $1.2 billion assets under management.
The acquisition of the equity stake will set ACA on course to become a beneficial shareholder in Food Concepts, a leading quick service restaurant operator in West Africa, with core operations in Nigeria and Ghana.
Food Concepts operates some of the most loved and fastest growing brands on the continent, particularly in Nigeria. It controls Chicken Republic, PieXpress and Chop Box.
As of December 2020, DPI held an 82.5-percent stake through its inaugural funds African Development Partners I (ADP I), which closed at $400 million, and African Development Partners II (ADP II), another Cambridge Associates top quartile fund worth about $725 million.
After the completion of the transaction, DPI will retain a majority stake in Food Concepts, over 50 percent according to data compiled by Billionaires.Africa.
Food Concepts Managing Director David Butler said ACA’s coming on board as a new strategic partner alongside DPI will put the company in the position to benefit from their shared operational expertise and industry knowledge during its next growth phase.
While commenting on the deal, DPI CEO and Co-Founder Runa Alam said Food Concepts has demonstrated the tremendous growth that the Nigerian mass consumer market can offer competitive companies.
She added that it has grown sales at over 40 percent every year since 2015.
ACA Chairman Okey Enelamah said Food Concepts is an excellent business with strong foundations built by the existing management team and supported by DPI.
He added that, through joint efforts with DPI and the management team, the company will achieve its planned growth and sustainability goals.
As of December 2020, Food Concepts had total assets of N22.7 billion ($55.3 million) and liabilities of N5.6 billion ($13.7 million). Meanwhile, its revenue increased from N4.74 billion ($11.5 million) in 2016 to N18.16 billion ($44.2 million) in 2020.
