LAGOS - Private equity firm Development Partners International (DPI) said on Thursday it has sold about a third of its stake in African quick-service restaurant group Food Concepts to African Capital Alliance (ACA), but will still own a majority of the company.
London-based DPI, announcing the deal in a joint statement with ACA, did not disclose the exact size of its holding or say how much the stake sale fetched. It said it will work with ACA to support Food Concepts' growth and drive regional expansion.
Food Concepts, set up in 2001, operates the famous Chicken Republic brand in Nigeria and Ghana among other brands.
DPI said Food Concepts' online delivery business was growing by more than 140% year-on-year, adding that it had tripled Food Concepts' footprint over a six-year period to 180 stores.
Online activities have seen a big boost thanks to social distancing rules introduced to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Private equity funds investing in Africa raised $1.2 billion in 2020, down from $3.9 billion the previous year, as a result of the economic fallout of the pandemic, the industry's deal tracker showed. African private equity raised $4.3 billion in 2015.
