Afrimax Group secures $120m of growth funding from global investors : leading LTE operator in sub-Saharan Africa

Business Wire via ITWeb,

Tokyo, London and Johannesburg, 14 Sep 2015

This latest successful investment round in Afrimax Group is led by Mitsui & Co, one of the world's most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises headquartered in Tokyo, together with a number of private investors spearheaded by Torreal, one of the largest private investment firms in Spain, in addition to existing shareholders Four G Capital, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and the IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund, an investment fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company.

This sizeable equity investment from a reputable consortium of investors is the latest in a series of endorsements of the success of Afrimax Group's business model.

In November 2014, Vodafone and Afrimax Group jointly announced a non-equity strategic framework agreement to cooperate and explore opportunities for Partner Market agreements in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Under this framework agreement, Vodafone Uganda was launched in February of this year combining the deployment of new high speed 4G networks with the use of existing infrastructure for 2G and 3G services.

Nobuaki Kitamori, COO of IT & Communication Business Unit of Mitsui & Co, said "We are excited by the growth opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa, where Afrimax has secured one of the industry's largest footprints of 4G licences, and plan to rapidly replicate the successful launch of Vodafone Uganda. With the support of our fellow shareholders, we look forward to building one of the region's leading next generation MNOs."

Torreal executives declared: "We are pleased to be supporting Afrimax at this exciting time as the company expands services into new markets following the success of Vodafone Uganda."

Afrimax was founded by mobile telephony entrepreneurs Jay Metcalfe (Chairman), Peter Langkilde (Chief Executive Officer) and Rob Philpott (Chief Financial Officer) who, for over 20 years, have been involved in highly successful telecommunications start-ups, operations and financing in Africa and around the world including Millicom, Celtel and BellSouth.

Afrimax

With an existing 4G Licence footprint covering 12 countries, population under Licence coverage of 222 million, and further licences being acquired, Afrimax is building the largest portfolio of 4G wireless broadband networks across sub-Saharan Africa.

Afrimax is led by an experienced management team with a successful track record in acquiring spectrum, building networks, and operating mobile services in diverse geographic markets, including Africa.

For more information, please visit www.afrimaxvodafonepartner.com or contact the Afrimax Press Office at contact@afrimaxvodafonepartner.com.

Mitsui & Co (Mitsui)

Mitsui & Co ("Mitsui") is one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment and service enterprises in the world, with 140 offices in 66 countries as of 1 September 2015. Utilising its global operating locations, network and information resources, Mitsui is multilaterally pursuing business that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Integrated Transportation Systems, Basic and Performance Chemicals, Energy, Food Resources, Food Products & Services, Consumer Service, IT & Communication and Corporate Development Business.

For more information, please visit: http://www.mitsui.com.

Torreal

Founded in 1990 Torreal is the sole manager of the assets of Juan Abell'o and his family and is one of the largest private investment firms in Spain. Torreal is a general investor with an interest in growing companies, irrespective of the transaction structure and stage of development and geography.

For more information visit: http://www.torreal.com

IFC

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2 000 businesses worldwide, it uses its capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it's needed most. In FY15, its long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.

For more information, visit www.ifc.org

IFC Asset Management Company

IFC Asset Management Company LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IFC, invests third-party capital, enabling outside investors to benefit from IFC's expertise in achieving strong equity returns, as well as positive development impact in the countries in which it invests. It manages $8.6 billion of capital across eleven investment funds, including the $1 billion IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund.

For more information, visit http://www.ifcamc.org

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Afrimax Group secures $120m of growth funding from global investors : leading LTE operator in sub-Saharan Africa

Afrimax Group, a fast emerging mobile network operator, has secured $120m of growth funding from a consortium of investors led by Mitsui & Co, to accelerate the rollout of its leading edge LTE led business model across multiple African markets.