DEG acquires a minority equity stake in Ashwah Holdings Limited, parent company of Daraju Industries Limited
DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, Germany’s development finance institution and a subsidiary of KfW Group, announces the acquisition of a minority equity stake in Ashwah Holdings Limited (“Ashwah”), the parent company of Daraju Industries Limited (“Daraju”) - one of Nigeria´s leading manufacturers of FMCG products in the personal care and household care segment. Ashwah is also currently a portfolio company of African Capital Alliance (ACA). By investing in Ashwah, DEG continues its focus of supporting indigenous emerging market companies to further industrialize and become regional leaders. As part of this deal, DEG will provide growth financing as well as advisory services to the management of the company.
Ashwah, via its flagship company Daraju Industries Limited, manufactures and trades over 100 stock keeping units (SKUs) of products tailored to meet the everyday needs of the middle to mass-market consumers in Nigeria. The group’s key competitiveness lies in the company’s value for money offerings, strong brands, diversified product portfolio, and significant production capacity.
Speaking on the transaction, Mr. Tunji Nelson, Investment Manager at DEG said: “We are delighted to be partnering with ACA in supporting the continued growth of Ashwah. We strongly believe that this is the ideal time to enter the personal care FMCG market in Nigeria, and that Ashwah, via Daraju provide an excellent platform. We look forward to supporting Ashwah and management in the company's next phase of development”
Mr. Paul Kokoricha, Partner at ACA said: “Since our investment in 2018, Ashwah has continued to grow its operations and expand its manufacturing base. The management team, under the visionary and disciplined leadership of Peeyush Garg, have repeatedly demonstrated resilience and a deep understanding of the Nigerian FMCG market and this has reaffirmed our confidence in the company’s ability to deliver strong returns to our fund. ACA welcomes DEG as a co-investor in Ashwah. We are optimistic, that this partnership will further enable Ashwah deliver on its agreed targets, and likely exceed the expectations of all stakeholders. This makes us truly excited”.
Mr. Peeyush Garg, Chairman and CEO of Ashwah, said: “Together with our entire management team, we are very excited to be partnering with DEG. We are confident about DEG’s strong commitment to providing us with the additional technical backing that will continuously enable us to support our customers. DEG definitely has the capacity, expertise, and network, to support us in expanding our business, as well as deliver innovative solutions for our market.”
About DEG
For almost 60 years, DEG has been a reliable partner to private-sector enterprises operating in developing and emerging-market countries. DEG provides its customers with tailor-made solutions, including financing, promotional programmes and advice tailored to individual needs. They can thus develop successfully and sustainably, while generating local added value and creating qualified jobs. With a portfolio of around EUR 8.5 billion in approximately 80 countries DEG is one of the world’s largest private-sector development financiers. Learn more: www.deginvest.de
DEG recently provided debt financing to United Bank for Africa (UBA). Speaking on DEG’s West African investments, Mr. Bernd Tilemann, Regional Head West Africa at DEG commented: “DEG is delighted to enter into a long-term cooperation with Ashwah. With our commitment we address the current economic challenges of the country while fostering private sector growth and impact in the largest economy of the continent.”
About African Capital Alliance
African Capital Alliance (ACA) is a market pioneer and leading pan-African investment firm, sponsoring funds and managing investments all over sub-Saharan Africa. Since its founding in 1997, ACA has invested across multiple market cycles through five private equity and real estate funds. Its CAPE IV fund raised in 2015 invested in Ashwah Holdings Limited in 2018. For more information, please visit https://acagp.com.
Transaction Advisors & Partners
The financial advisory on this transaction was performed by Delwik Gmbh, a boutique female led investment advisory company. As a development finance institution, DEG is proud of Delwik’s involvement, as it has added to DEG’s focus of promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goal #5 on gender diversity. For more information on Delwik Gmbh, please visit http://www.delwikgroup.com.
Legal advisors to DEG, the buyers/investors, include DLA Piper LLP and Walkers Global. For more information on DLA Piper, please visit https://www.dlapiper.com/en/us/. For more information on Walkers, please visit www.walkersglobal.com.
Press Contact DEG:
Anja Strautz
