Actis substantially exits Alexander Forbes through a successful Listing

Actis has substantially exited from Alexander Forbes Group Holdings Ltd, one of South Africa’s leading diversified financial services companies. Actis has sold a 9% stake, in an oversubscribed offer through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), representing a large part of its 13% total stake.

Mercer Africa Limited (Mercer), a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, has agreed to acquire 34% of Alexander Forbes, as part of the exit deal, an investment that would give Mercer an opportunity to broaden its exposure in sub-Saharan African markets. Mercer is initially acquiring a 14.9% stake, at the time of the Alexander Forbes listing, and subject to regulatory approvals, will acquire a further 19.1% stake; leading to a full exit for Actis and other private equity consortium members who collectively hold 54% of the group pre-listing.

Actis led the $1.2 billion buyout of Alexander Forbes in 2007, in one of the largest and most complex leveraged buyouts ever undertaken in Africa. Since then, Actis and fellow shareholders have transformed the business from a corporate governance perspective. With a new high calibre senior management team, the board helped to recover reputational issues that plagued the business, attract industry experts to the Board, develop a retail offering and expand EBITDA margins through disposing of non-core business units and driving cost efficiencies.