John Coors, the great grandson of the founders of US American brewery Coors, is reportedly planning to raise a $300 million fund, One Thousand & One Voices, for private equity investments in Africa.
The One Thousand & One Voices fund will have $50 million to $100 million by the end of the year to invest in the fastest-growing African nations – including Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania and Nigeria, Coors said, in a interview on May 3.
The fund will seek minority stakes of $10 million to $40 million and target companies with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $2 million to $15 million.
John Coors’ previous engagement with sub-Saharan Africa appears to have been on a philanthropic basis, but in the Bloomberg interview, he confirmed that the fund would be a commercial venture:
“The foundation of this movement is the realization that we don’t need more philanthropy, we don’t need more aid. We need more investment because we need to create jobs,” he said.
Africa is attracting buyout firms, including Carlyle Group LP and Abraaj Capital Ltd., seeking higher returns than those offered in Europe and the US.
Private-equity transactions in Africa jumped by almost a fifth to 43 deals in the first nine months of last year, compared with a decline of 17 percent to 179 transactions in China, according to the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.
The economy of sub-Saharan Africa will probably expand 6.1 percent next year, the fastest pace of any region in the world after emerging Asia, fuelled by China’s demand for gold, copper and oil, according to the International Monetary Fund.
