ECP seals 2.4x exit via IPO

Emerging Capital Partners has exited feminine and baby hygiene products manufacturer Société d’Articles Hygiéniques via an initial public offering, generating a 2.4x return multiple, according to a statement.

ECP listed more than 14 million shares of the company at a price of roughly $5.65 per share representing a sale price of about $80.1 million. The IPO was split into a global private placement, representing 90 percent of the shares, with the remaining 10 percent offered to public investors.

The IPO marks the largest ever since the creation of the Tunis Stock Exchange in 1994 and the first exit of a financial investor through the exchange, according to ECP.

ECP initially invested in Société d’Articles Hygiéniques in 2008 through its ECP Africa Fund II, which raised $523 million, and its MENA Growth Fund, which was established in September 2007 to make growth equity investments in the Middle East and North Africa.

During the investment period, ECP helped Société d’Articles Hygiéniques increase its customer base beyond Tunisia to 17 countries across North and sub-Saharan Africa, by creating subsidiaries in Algeria and Libya and a paper mill factory in Tunisia.

“With ECP’s support, SAH has expanded its production capacity, brought new products to market…and built a strong customer brand”, Nayel Georges Vidal, director in ECP’s Tunis office, said in the statement.

ECP is in the market with its Africa Fund IV, which launched in 2013 and is targeting $750 million, according to Private Equity International’s Research and Analytics division.

ECP has raised more $2 billion through seven funds for growth capital investments in Africa’s financial services, natural resources, retail and consumer, agriculture and infrastructure sectors. The firm was founded in 2000 by five founding partners, including managing directors Hurley Doddy, Vincent Le Guennou and Carolyn Campbell.

Yolanda Bobeldijk contributed to this report.