Vantage Capital Announces Its Exit From Pétro Ivoire
Vantage Capital Announces Its Exit From Pétro Ivoire. Vantage Capital, the largest mezzanine debt fund manager on the African continent, announced that it had fully monetized in December 2022 its investment in Pétro Ivoire, the most established local company in the distribution of petroleum products and gas companies in Côte d’Ivoire. Pétro Ivoire operates a network of around eighty service stations across the country and is one of the leaders in the packaged butane gas segment.
In December 2018, Vantage provided mezzanine financing of €19 million to Pétro Ivoire, to enable the founding family to regain a majority stake in the capital of the company by facilitating the buyback of shares from two capital funds -outbound investment. With this new shareholder structure, backed by investment from Vantage, the company continued to expand its service station network and gas sales business. During the investment, Vantage recognized Pétro Ivoire as a local player among the leaders of its market, operating in a growing and resilient sector, and managed by a talented family who has successfully led the company for more than 25 years.
Driss Benabdeslam, Associate Partner at Vantage Capital, commented: “Pétro Ivoire is the perfect example of the added value provided by mezzanine financing. After being supported by several private equity funds in the early stages of the company’s development, our financing provided the founding family with a solution that allowed them to exit these investors and regain control of their business without financial contribution. significant. Thanks to the sustained growth that followed, Pétro Ivoire reached a sufficient size to unlock additional institutional capital for its next phase of development. We are proud to have accompanied the company in this phase of expansion and are convinced that the management will make Pétro Ivoire a leading regional player in the years to come.”
Luc Albinski , Executive Chairman at Vantage Capital, added: “Pétro Ivoire is an emblematic transaction for us. This was Vantage’s first investment in Francophone Africa, and the transaction was also the first Leveraged Management Buy-out (debt-financed buyout of a company) in the WAEMU region. In addition to funding, we provided the Kadio-Morokro family with strategic support to propel the company forward. This successful partnership paves the way for more such transactions in the region.”
