General Atlantic is on track to buy Actis to form USD 96 bn asset manager: US private equityfirm General Atlantic has agreed to acquire London-based, emerging markets-focussed infrastructure fund manager Actis, according to statements from the companies (here and here). The move will add USD 12.5 bn worth of assets under management to General Atlantic’s USD 83 bn portfolio. The value of the acquisition wasn’t disclosed.

But don’t worry, Actis ain’t going away any time soon: Actis will become General Atlantic’s sustainable infrastructure arm and will retain its name, independence over investment decisions, and familiar faces at the top of the organization.

THE EGYPT ANGLE- Actis invested in Egypt when other PE firms weren’t interested: Actis has a “20 year track-record of investing over USD 1 bn in some of the country’s most strategically important businesses and projects,” our friend Sherif El Kholy, both partner and head of Middle East and Africa Infrastructure and of private equity in MENA at Actis, said in back in 2022.

Actis has made big investments in Egypt across sectors including food and beverage, healthcare, and power and has completed landmark investments in market-leading businesses including CIB, Edita Food Industries, and El-Rashidi El-Mizan. The emerging markets champion has also doubled down on big ticket investments in physical infrastructure, when other private equity shied away from investing here, and remains a major shareholder of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings.

AND- Actis is an importantplayer in our green energy and privatization ambitions: The Madbouly government was on tract to accept Actis' bid to add the state-owned 580-MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm to its long list of renewable holdings here in Egypt, a source at the New Renewable Energy Authority told Enterprise in July. This could mean a lot of money for the state coffers, with the government reportedly hoping to up the price to USD 600-800 mn from USD 400 mn. Outside of its renewables portfolio, Actis could also be on its way to acquiring the 4.8-GW Siemens power plant in Beni Suef from the government for USD 2 bn.

** Sherif El Kholy (LinkedIn) took to the stage at Enterprise Finance Forum to offer his thoughts on the state of funding in Egypt. You can check out our rundown of the session here.

What they said: “Addressing the global paradigm shift toward sustainability requires aneconomic transformation and a capital investment on a massive scale,” said Bill Ford, General Atlantic’s chairman and CEO. “With the addition of Actis, we are taking a significant step forward to add a sustainable investment capability which positions General Atlantic to capture this [potential] set for our investors.”

THE GLOBAL ANGLE- It’s not just General Atlantic who thinks there’s an infrastructure boom around the corner:US investment giant BlackRock agreed to acquire energy- and transport-focussed infrastructure investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners for a grand total of USD 12.5 bn last week — creating the world’s second-largest infrastructure firm.

The int’l business press all gave the news some ink:Financial Times | Bloomberg | Reuters

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