UK private equity firm Actis has acquired 30% stake in Edita Food Industries, a leading snack food business in Egypt, for $102m.Edita is a leading independent snack food business in North Africa with brands including Twinkies, Hohos, Molto, Todo and Bake Rolz. The company sells about 2.5 billion pieces of croissants, cakes, and wafers per year, with an average price point of $0.1. Edita's revenues grew at a compound rate of 21% per annum since 2009.
Actis, which paid $46.8 per share for Edita, stated that the Egyptian snack food market is growing rapidly and the investment in Edita builds on its three acquisitions earlier in the North African food sector, including Mo'men, El-Rashidi El-Mizan and Poulina.
Actis Consumer head Rick Phillips said that this investment demonstrates the company's long term commitment to Egypt's prosperity and its confidence in this important market.
"Actis continues to proactively pursue investments in high quality, well-managed businesses across the region."
Edita chairman Hani Berzi said: "We received numerous approaches from interested parties, but chose Actis because of its pan-emerging markets consumer sector expertise, and proven commitment to supporting strong resilient businesses regardless of economic cycles and political unrest."
With the acquisition, the stake held by the Berzi family has reduced from 60% to 42%, while the remaining stake is held by Greece-based snacks & chocolate confectioneries manufacturer Chipita.
Actis is a private equity firm focused on investments in emerging markets in Africa, China, India, Latin America, and South East Asia.
