Actis Capital

Actis is a global emerging markets investment firm focused on the private equity, energy, infrastructure, and real estate asset classes. It has a growing portfolio of investments across Asia, Africa, and Latin America and US$12 billion in assets under management. Since its inception in 2004, the firm has raised US$19 billion in capital, executing over 200 transactions in 40+ countries across all four asset classes.[2]

Actis LLP
TypeLimited liability partnership
IndustryPrivate equity, Emerging markets
PredecessorCDC Group
Founded2004[1]
HeadquartersLondon, SE1
United Kingdom
Total assets$7.6 billion
Number of employees
c.250
Websitewww.act.is

Applying developed market disciplines to emerging markets, an established team of c. 120 investment professionals, working across 17 offices globally, identify investment opportunities in private equity, energy and real estate. Actis is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI), an investor initiative developed by the UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact. Actis targets consistent superior returns across asset classes over the long-term, bringing financial and social benefits to investors, consumers and communities.[3] It is focused on investments in emerging markets in Africa, China, India, Latin America, and South East Asia.[4]

Actis was formed in July 2004, as a spinout of CDC Group plc (formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation), an organization established by the UK Government in 1948 to invest in developing economies in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The Actis management team acquired majority ownership of CDC's emerging markets investment platform.

History

Actis was founded in 2004 as a spinout from CDC Group, the UK's development finance institution, when a 60% stake in the firm was sold to CDC managers and staff for a total consideration of £373,000.[5] The new company was given a five-year 'umbrella' guarantee that it would continue to manage all CDC's existing overseas investments totalling US$900 million in CDC funds. According to the UK's Department for International Development, the price was agreed after a valuation by financial advisers KPMG. Under the 2004 deal that created Actis, if the company was to be sold on the open market within 10 years, 80% of the profits and proceeds would go back to the government.

In 2007, UK prime minister Gordon Brown came under attack over the sell-off of Actis after it became apparent that the formerly government-owned business had made millions of pounds for its former employees.[6]

On 1 May 2012 the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, announced that the state's remaining 40% stake had been sold to Actis management for an initial £8m. The deal also included a share of future profits that could be worth over £62m to the UK Government.[7]

In August 2013, Actis acquired the South African firm Transaction Capital's payment services unit, Paycorp, for US$95 million.[8]

In October 2013, the firm announced it had invested US$48 million in the Indian pharmaceuticals company Symbiotec Pharmalab for a "significant stake".[9]

In March 2019, Actis was named "Impact Investment Firm of the Year" at the 2018 Private Equity International Awards. The firm also placed second in the Energy Private Equity category, behind I Squared Capital.[10]

In April 2019, driven by an industry-wide trend towards more transparency in impact investing, the firm launched the "Actis Impact Score", an open-source framework that seeks to consistently measure impact from investment to investment, thus permitting comparison across different asset classes or geographies, as well as tracking its evolution over the holding period.[11]

In mid 2018, following the crisis and subsequent collapse of The Abraaj Group, Actis moved to acquire and assume management of Abraaj's Middle East and North Africa funds.[12] While other players were interested and placed competing bids, including higher offers from firms based in the Persian Gulf, Actis was ultimately preferred by investors to take over the funds due to its emerging-markets expertise and operations-focused investment rationale, as well as in interest of a block deal that encompassed all underlying assets.[13]

In July 2019, after a complex, multiyear process, it was announced that Actis had secured management rights to Abraaj Private Equity Fund IV and Abraaj Africa Fund III, totaling $2.99 billion of assets under management and 14 portfolio companies.[14][15] The transaction also included around 25 junior employees formerly employed by Abraaj. Commenting on the deal, Actis' Chief Investment Officer stated it was a response after "a number of investors asked us to step in to be part of a solution in mid-2018".[15] With the transaction, Actis reaches $12 billion under management and 250 employees globally.[14]

References
  1. Spinout from CDC Group
  2. "Company Statistics | About Us | Actis". www.act.is. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  3. "Company Overview of Actis Capital, LLP" (Archive). Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved on September 1, 2014. "2 More London Riverside London, SE1 2JT United Kingdom"
  4. Private equity: Bain and Actis hunt big game in Africa. Euromoney magazine, April 2007
  5. Tran, Mark (2012-05-02). "UK sells share in emerging markets private equity group Actis". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  6. MPs blast 'incompetent' Brown over company sell-off. The Observer, 25 November 2007
  7. UK sells share in emerging markets private equity group Actis. The Guardian, 2 May 2012
  8. South Africa's Transaction Capital sells unit to Actis for $95 mln, International: Reuters, 2013
  9. Indulal PM (22 October 2013). "PE firm Actis says invests $48 million in Indian pharma company". Reuters.
  10. "PEI Awards 2018: Global winners". Private Equity International. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  11. Rust, Susanna. "Actis: Thinking deep about measurement". IPE. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  12. "Actis bids for Abraaj's emerging market funds -sources". Reuters. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  13. "Abraaj Investors Prefer $1 Actis Bid to Gulf Offers". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  14. "UPDATE 1-Actis takes on management of two Abraaj funds". Reuters. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  15. James, Rod (2019-07-15). "Actis takes control of Abraaj funds". Private Equity International. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
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