Metier Capital Growth Fund II is hoping to have a final close in the next month and a half, according to J-P Fourie, Head of Investor Relations at Metier.

The South African private equity firm has recently announced that it raised in excess of R2.5bn in subsequent closings to June 2016 for the Fund II.

Commenting on the fundraising, Fourie said: “This is in line with our expectations and in line with prior fund sizes.”

Although further commitments are expected by final closing, Fourie said they “don’t have a target per se”.

The Fund II is the successor fund to the Capital Growth Fund of 2006/7, which invested in eight portfolio companies, the majority in value now realized.

Fourie told Africa Global Funds that Metier Capital Growth Fund II plans to make 8-12 deals overall.

The fund will focus on private equity investment in buyout and growth capital transactions in South, Southern and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Investments are targeted in sectors set to benefit from demographic trends such as population growth and increased urbanisation, and the accompanying consumer spend from the emerging middle class.

The fund will also target investments in sectors which are advantageously exposed to increasing intra-regional and international trade, and also where strong management teams are able to lead regional expansion of their businesses.

The fund strategy targets exposure of 50% to Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.

The fund has already concluded four investments in the retail, out of home dining, healthcare and industrial services sectors.

“We are currently exploring deals in the agri processing and healthcare services sectors as well as additional acquisitions for the existing platform deals,” said Fourie.

The fund was invested in by both international and South African based investors including significant commitments from international developmental finance institutions.

The Dutch development bank FMO, one of the investors in the Fund II, has committed R300m, according to Alison Klein, Manager, Private Equity at FMO.

“FMO committed R240m in the first close and subsequently increased its commitment to R300m,” she said.

“Metier is a longstanding partner of FMO with a demonstrated track record in the region.  The fund fits well with FMO’s mandate due to its focus is on high-growth businesses in the midcap segment in Sub-Saharan Africa, its commitment to ESG and the fund’s expected impact through job creation and tax revenue generation,” Klein told AGF.

Other fund investors are DEG, the International Finance Corporation, Sarona and Averroès Finance III, a fund sponsored by Proparco and Bpifrance, the French public investment bank.

The South African based investors include institutional investors such as Investment Solutions, MMI Group Limited, local pension funds and asset managers.

The Metier team also made material investment commitments in the fund equivalent to an institutional commitment.

Metier was founded in 2004 and raised South Africa’s largest private equity fund in terms of third party local commitments.