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The Abraaj Group acquires majority stake in Mouka

07 Jul 2015, 11:27 am
Financial Nigeria
The Abraaj Group acquires majority stake in Mouka

News Highlight

- Abraaj acquired its stake from previous majority shareholders, Actis and the founding family.

- Mouka is a household brand name in Nigeria and a leading manufacturer in the Nigerian foam and bedding space.

A Mouka mattress

The Abraaj Group, a leading investor in global growth markets, has announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Mouka Limited, Nigeria’s a leading mattress manufacturer. The private equity company acquired its stake from previous majority shareholders, Actis and the founding family, although the latter still retains a minority stake in Mouka.

Actis, the pan-emerging markets investor, invested in 2007 and since then it has expanded the company and its operations across Nigeria; built best-in-class manufacturing facilities‎; expanded production and distribution; brought in a first-rate board and helped Mouka evolve from a well-respected, family-owned business into a sustainable, successful corporation. Established in Kano in 1959 as Moukarim Metalwood Factory Limited, today, Mouka is a household brand name in Nigeria and a leading manufacturer in the Nigerian foam and bedding space, producing a wide range of mattresses and bedding products.
 
Speaking on the exit, John Opubor, Director in Actis’s Nigerian office, said: “Favourable demographics are driving growth and a positive consumer environment in Nigeria — the country boasts a large and fast-growing population, high GDP per capita growth, rising urbanisation levels, and an expanding middle class. We saw an opportunity to help Mouka capitalise on this trend and have been pleased with the growth we’ve been able to help the company achieve.”

Abraaj and the Moukarim family will focus on enhancing Mouka’s product offering, customer service, as well as its sales and distribution strategy by increasing its market penetration across the region. Abraaj, which invests with a rigorous approach to sustainability, plans to further strengthen the corporate governance structures already in place within the Company, and optimize the health and safety standards at Mouka’s production facilities, including key areas pertaining to fire safety and chemical storage, amongst others.

Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, Partner at The Abraaj Group, said, “Abraaj is one of the most active investors on the African continent, with a particularly strong track record in Nigeria. We continue to see significant upside potential across the country in tandem with the fast growth of its population and the expansion of its middle class. We’ve long been interested in the mattress-manufacturing space, and have carefully reviewed a number of opportunities in the past. The market opportunity for high quality sleeping products offers good potential for growth, and we believe Mouka is very well positioned to capitalize on this.”

Abraaj has over a decade of investing experience, and its portfolio in Nigeria includes Fan Milk Nigeria, AOS Orwell, C&I Leasing, Custodian & Allied Insurance, Computer Warehouse Group, The Bridge Clinic & PathCare, and Lily Hospitals.

Non-executive Director of Mouka, Hasib Moukarim, said: “The Moukarim family recognized the Abraaj team’s deep local experience and the Group’s successful track record of developing businesses in growth markets globally. We are confident that Abraaj is the ideal investor to carry Mouka into its next phase of growth and look forward to our partnership.”

KPMG acted as financial and tax advisor, while Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Olaniwun Ajayi acted as legal advisors to The Abraaj Group on the transaction.


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