MOROCCO – Groupe Premium, the Casablanca-based capital goods distributor and a part of Amethis Fund, has raised €4 million (US$4.9 million) debt funding from German development finance institution DEG under the AfricaConnect programme to develop its activities in West Africa.
This loan targets in particular the financing of Groupe Premium’s subsidiaries in Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso to support their growth in these new markets.
A family business created in 1949, Groupe Premium has established itself over the years as a key player in the distribution of capital goods In Morocco.
It has exposure to segments like construction, mining and quarrying and agriculture and has established partnerships with more than 50 brands including Liebherr, Linde, Manitou, Bomag, Putzmeister, Sandvik and John Deere.
The company had attracted PE funding from Amethis in late 2017. It has since then grown in West Africa where it is now active in seven countries: Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Togo and Benin.
DEG is also an existing investor in an Amethis fund. Amethis entered the Morocco market by taking over the management of the fund named Capital North Africa Fund II.
This vehicle was rechristened as Amethis Maghreb Fund I, and focuses on the north African market.
In March, it had struck its debut deal from the second MENA fund by acquiring a majority stake in Magriser Group, a Moroccan company that installs micro-irrigation and solar pumping systems.
Amethis acquired a significant minority stake in Groupe Premium in December, 2020 to support this leading industrial equipment distributor in its African expansion.
Family business founded in 1949, Premium has become over the years a major player of the equipment distribution in Morocco in the industry, mining and quarrying, construction and agriculture sectors thanks to its portfolio of leading international brands.
Groupe Premium has partnered with more than 50 internationally recognized brands: Liebherr, Linde, Manitou, Bomag, Putzmeister, Sandvik, John Deere and has a demonstrated track record of successful strategic acquisitions in Morocco that have fostered its growth in the last 20 years.
