KKR is investing about $200 million in Ethiopian flower company Afriflora. (Photo:, an Afriflora worker)
By SIMON CLARK
LONDON—For private-equity giant KKR & Co., a debut investment in Africa smells of sweetheart roses.
Afriflora is an Ethiopian company that grows about 730 million of the flowers a year for export to Europe, making it a significant player in the east African country’s blossoming cut flower export industry. KKR is investing about $200 million from its $6.2 billion European fund to buy a stake in the company, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
The deal opens a new chapter for KKR, the New York-based firm best-known for its hostile $25 billion leveraged takeover of RJR Nabisco in 1988, the subject of the book “Barbarians at the Gate.”It also comes as private-equity firms, seeking opportunities outside the crowded markets of North America and Europe, show tentative interest in Africa. KKR rival, Washington-based Carlyle Group LP, raised a $698 million African fund earlier this year and has invested in a food distributor and a logistics company, for instance.
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Related:
KKR seeks fertile ground in Ethiopia (Financial Times)
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