I&M Burbidge Capital has successfully advised Ascent Capital Africa (“Ascent”), the fund manager for the Ascent Rift Valley Fund (“ARVF” or the “Fund”) on the Fund’s exit from Medpharm Africa Holdings Limited (the “Company”). The transaction was completed to Cerba Lancet Africa, a leading clinical pathology and medical diagnosis network in Africa with 170 sites across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2004, the Company which operates under the International Clinical Laboratories (“ICL”) brand, provides quality laboratory services across Ethiopia. The Company employs a hub and spoke model with the main laboratory located in the Kera area of Addis Ababa and 14 patient service centres in Addis Ababa and the regional cities of Bahir Dar, Mekelle, Hawassa, Adama, Gondar, Jimma, Dessie, Diredawa and Harrar. It has the widest test menu amongst private laboratory companies in Ethiopia and a strong focus on reliable, efficient service delivery. ARVF invested in Medpharm in 2015 and over that time, the Company’s revenue has grown 9-fold with test volumes growing from 15,000 per month to 40,000 per month making it the diagnostics market leader in Ethiopia.
I&M Burbidge Capital acted as the sole Transaction Advisor to Ascent, structuring the transaction, and introducing Cerba in a competitive transaction process. The team from I&M Burbidge Capital comprised Edward Burbidge and Kevin Kuria.
David Owino, Managing Partner at Ascent commented, “We were pleased to have worked with I&M Burbidge Capital on this transaction, benefitting from their global network of buyers and skilled team of executors that carried the transaction through to completion. We highly recommend them for their transaction structuring and execution skills.”
Kevin Kuria, Associate Vice President at I&M Burbidge Capital noted, “It was a pleasure advising Ascent on this transaction. The value created by the partnership between Ascent and the promoters of ICL presented a very attractive proposition for potential buyers enabling a competitive process that Cerba were well placed to complete. Congratulations to the Ascent team on a landmark transaction. We look forward to delivering more exits for our clients, helping the private capital industry realise value from the tremendous potential in the region.”
Ascent Rift Valley Fund Limited (“ARVF”) is a US$80 million private equity fund whose focus is to invest in East Africa targeting small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). ARVF has invested in scalable fast-growing enterprises with investments amounts ranging between USD 2 million to USD 14 million per Investee Company.
Ascent Capital Africa Ltd is the exclusive investment adviser to ARVF. Through its associated advisory firms, Ascent Capital is represented in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Ascent Capital Advisory Services LLP is the Kenyan firm advising Ascent Capital.
I&M Burbidge Capital (IMBC) (formerly Burbidge Capital) is a corporate finance advisory firm regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). We advise businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa on significant capital raising through IPOs, private equity, debt and M&A transactions, focusing on transactions with a value of USD 5 million – USD 250 million. We service the region from our Head Office in Nairobi and a regional office in Kampala and leverage our affiliations across Sub-Saharan Africa and the globe to deliver value for our clients.
