Kibo Capital divests its stake in logistics and distribution company General Cargo Group

KENYA – Kibo Capital Partners, a private equity management company, has sold its interest in the Kenyan logistics and distribution company, General Cargo Group (GCG), to logistic company Velogic.

The Kibo shares were sold to Velogic, the logistics subsidiary of the Mauritius services and investment group Rogers Group. Velogic was also the majority shareholder of General Cargo Group.

The divestment marks the second exit of Kibo’s sophomore fund Kibo II. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Kibo first backed GCG in 2016 when the company was a Mombasa-based clearing and transportation company.

As a result of the investment and Kibo’s close partnership with Rogers Group, GCG transformed into a diversified logistics business with successful expansion into the technology and distribution services business.

“We are pleased to have completed a successful exit of GCG. In close partnership with Rogers, we successfully expanded an already strong company, doubling EBITDA margins and scaling operations,” Christoph Evard, Partner at Kibo, said.

“We believe that under Rogers’ leadership, GCG will remain a leader and expand in a sector that is driving growth in East Africa.”

This divestment marks the third exit carried out by Kibo Capital Partners, since the beginning of the current year. Last June, he announced the sale of his 6.01% stake in I&M Bank Rwanda. Four months earlier, at the beginning of February, he had formalized his exit from the capital of Orange Madagascar.

Kibo Capital has indicated that it has structured its investment and finalized its exit from General Cargo Group through its second fund, Kibo Fund II.

This vehicle makes capital investments of between US$4 million and US$10 million in SMEs and middle market companies in Africa.

It should also be noted that the logistics sector received the lowest share (4%) of all investments made by the fund manager to date. It has concentrated its operations more in the financial services sector, in the agri-food and manufacturing industry and in the consumer goods sector.