RIYADH, 24 October 2007 — Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), chaired by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, announced that the first Kingdom Zephyr Fund (PAIP I), a fund run by Kingdom Zephyr Africa Management (KZAM), has achieved an internal rate of return (IRR) of 94 percent in three years and a cash-on-cash multiple of 2.4 times. KHC owns 50 percent of KZAM (GP) and 50 percent of Zephyr Management LP (a New York-based private equity firm).
Alwaleed said “the PAIP I results reflect the outstanding achievement of KZAM and our positive investment strategy in Africa,” KHC said in a statement yesterday.
Ahmed Halawani, executive director of private equity at KHC, said PAIP I results “translates our original vision that Africa’s investment climate remains extremely fertile and will continue to attract capital from all over the world. With our partnership with Zephyr, we will remain pioneers in the African private equity sphere and our track record will solidify our pioneer position. We believe that the economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world will continue to reward investors as the African economic climate continues to improve.” KZAM is a general partnership between KHC and Zephyr Management that focuses on investment opportunities in the region and pan-African businesses. PAIP I) has invested more than $100 million in private equity opportunities in Africa, such as in telecommunications, financial services, IT, equity markets and real estate as well as in retail, mining and business services.
KZAM’s investment portfolio includes companies, such as Letshego, Celtel, Ecobank, CNIA Assurance and TBU.
The firm’s investments are carefully geared around active partnerships with “high value” African companies.
