Morocco: the Tana Africa fund is investing in red fruits by acquiring a stake in Palmagri
Tana Africa Capital, the private equity firm founded and co-financed by the South African family Oppenheimer and the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, has acquired a stake in the red fruit subsidiary of Palmagri, the agro-industrial division of the Moroccan group Palmeraie Holding.
Active in the exploitation of red fruits, date palms and rosacea, Palmagri now has 97 hectares for the arboriculture of red fruits (raspberries and blueberries), which are in great demand on the American and European markets. It is in this very specific segment that the Tana fund has set its sights on making an investment of MAD200 million ($20 million); an amount in line with the fund’s strategy, which consists of investing between $20 million and $75 million in minority shares of companies already established on their markets. The announcement was made on Monday 23 September, in a press release from the Palm grove group. « This partnership with TANA will enable PALMAGRI to strengthen its position as a leading Moroccan operator in this sector, to further exploit its strong growth potential in the soft fruit sector and to rapidly execute its growth strategy in both production and distribution, » said Saad Berrada Sounni, President of Palmeraie Holding, in the above-mentioned statement. The Pan-African fund thus becomes the third external shareholder to join the Moroccan family holding company’s round table, after the British fund manager DPI in 2018 and the Spanish equipment manufacturer Jobelsa.
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Founded almost half a century ago by Abdelali Berrada Sounni, Saad’s father, the Palmeraie group is today a conglomerate present in Morocco and Africa, whose operational activities cover the industrial, distribution, automotive, education, mining and agro-industry sectors. As for Tana Africa, founded in 2011, the fund has to date invested more than $250 million across the African continent and completed in 2017 the raising of an additional $300 million from its historical shareholders.