London-based Vasari Global owns 98% of the controlling offshore company of Dashen Brewery, one of Ethiopia’s largest breweries
LONDON (Vasari Global/RMB/Duet Group) – Vasari Beverages has completed a US$100m capital raise to fund a set of growth opportunities including the expansion of its Ethiopia brewery and the pursuit of new acquisitions and greenfield developments across Africa and Asia.
It was reported that RMB, South African diversified financial services holding company, acted as sole mandated lead arranger and funder to Vasari for the recent US$100 million capital raise.
Vasari is a leading frontier and emerging markets alcoholic beverage investor and RMB, a leading pan-African investment bank, acted as sole mandated lead arranger and funder for the latest deal.
Led by Vivian Imerman, Vasari has more than 40 years’ experience operating market-leading consumer goods companies across emerging and developed markets including Scottish distiller Whyte & Mackay.
“Over the past six years we have been involved in the deployment of more than US$250m in capital investment to develop our frontier and emerging markets beverage strategy,” said Imerman.
“Vasari Beverages has a highly activist investment approach and seeks to build long term sustainable value. This capital injection is a step forward in pursuing our investment strategy across compelling opportunities in our target regions.”
Vasari owns 98% of the controlling offshore company of Dashen Brewery, one of Ethiopia’s largest breweries, which will use some of the capital raised by Vasari to double total production capacity to 5 million hectolitres.
In 2012, UK-based asset management firms Duet Group and Vasari partnered with the TIRET Group, an Ethiopian endowment fund, in the brewery sector, to form one of the largest private equity investment in Ethiopia. Duet Group made a significant investment into Dashen Brewery in the form of an equity injection from the then newly-formed Duet Beverages Africa company (now called Duet Group), which is managed by the Duet Africa Private Equity team together with Vasari as the Company’s industrial partner.
Sources: Vasari Global, RMB and Duet Group