Africa dealmakers meet in London as telecom, media and technology investment accelerates

May 19, 2015 - PRLog -- Leading investors, operators and advisers active in the African telecom, media and technology (TMT) sectors are meeting in London for the 6^th annual TMT Finance & Investment Africa (http://www.tmtfinance.com/africa) Conference on June 23, as cross sector deal activity is predicted to escalate over the next 12 months.   http://www.tmtfinance.com/africa

Several sub-sectors within TMT are tipped to be particularly active on the deal front, such as telecom towers, IT services and infrastructure, and Africa media companies, partly driven by an increasing number of international private equity firms investing in Africa. Companies such as The Carlyle Group, KKR, The Abraaj Group and Helios Investment Partners, have all setup dedicated c. US$1bn funds to invest in African companies, which is likely to help increase deal activity, according to Ben Nice, Editor of TMT Finance News.

He said: “The number of deals that we are reporting on in Africa goes from strength to strength. The towers sector has kept the industry buoyant over the past 12 months, and plenty of opportunities are still being discussed. Towercos are now looking at the next phase of growth, including bond issues and IPOs, as well as further expanding their portfolios through more acquisitions, locking in cheaper levels of debt and raising significant amounts from international investors.”

According to Nice, in May alone, TMT Finance News reported on several African assets which are currently in play. For example, a string of buyers are being linked with Oger Telecom’s Cell C in South Africa; IHS Towers is speaking to banks about refinancing US$200m debt; VimpelCom is working with Barclays to sell Telecel Zimbabwe; Eaton Towers has acquired Mobinil’s towers in Egypt; O3B is planning a new financing round; MTN is gearing up for multiple IPOs; several African media companies are tipped to be coming up for sale/IPO; and MTN and Telkom are both predicted to sell towers in South Africa this year.

On the topic of M&A at the TMT Finance & Investment Africa 2015 conference, TMT heads from Citi, Barclays, Linkstone Capital and Standard Bank will speak on the ‘TMT M&A Panel – How will consolidation shape the African market?’ The panel will debate issues such as: how will financing and valuations affect transactions; who will lead consolidation, where are the latest opportunities for new investments and partnerships; and how best to manage risk and regulation issues.

Over 30 key speakers have already been announced across the event including c-level representatives from companies such as: Etisalat Group, IHS, MainOne, Accelero Capital, Eaton Towers, Seacom, WIOCC, Wananchi Group, Emerging Capital Partners, Helios Investment Parthers LLP, Linkstone Capital, Standard Bank, Barclays Capital, Citi, Nedbank Capital, Rand Merchant Bank, Dentons, IFC, Credit Agricole, Solon, and more.

The conference takes place on June 23, 2015, at the Millennium Mayfair Hotel, London.

For more information, go to: http://www.tmtfinance.com/africa

Register to attend at http://www.tmtfinance.com/africa/register/