Euromena achieves final close at $150m

CDC Group is among the limited partners of the third fund, which also include International Finance Corporation, Proparco, European Investment Bank and DEG.

EU agency European Investment Bank (EIB) has achieved a final close of its third Lebanon-based Euromena private equity fund, managed by Capital Trust Group, at $150m.

Apart from EIB, which has provided $27m, the fund’s limited partners include International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of multilateral financial institution World Bank, CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, DEG, Germany’s investment and development corporation, and Proparco, the sovereign wealth fund of France.

The fund had achieved a $147.9m close in May 2016, which was billed as a final close at the time. It focuses on SMEs and mid-caps in Middle East and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan Africa.

Euromena III is expected to make a total of eight to 10 investments, committing between $10m and $20m. The fund has already made three investments in the retail, banking and fast-moving consumer goods sectors, and is expected to be fully invested by the end of the year.

Euromena I was launched in 2006 with $63m in capital, while Euromena II was created in 2009 with $90.6m in funding.

Romen Mathieu, managing partner of Euromena, said: “Despite the challenging macro-environment in the region, Euromena has successfully raised this strategic round of investments, which is a direct result of its successful track record.

“By following Euromena’s proven strategy of creating regional leading groups, the fund is not only generating value for its shareholders, but also creating a visible positive impact in the Middle East and Africa through the creation of job opportunities and the contribution to the development of those countries’ economies.

“The participation of several international investors in the fund is a clear demonstration of the opportunity that Euromena’s target regions (the Middle East and Africa) provide to foreign investors in terms of portfolio diversification.”

See more from this Government Report: France, Germany, UK, World Bank/IFC