Sunday, February 9, 2025

Afinitas buys 50 percent of top African conference

Afinitas Limited said it has bagged its new portfolio, as the Botswana company gets down to business following its listing on the local exchange in July 2015. The company said in a Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) filing that it has wrapped up the acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the annual Africa Financial Services Investment Conference (AFSIC).

 

“This Acquisition provides Afinitas with instant access to one of the most comprehensive contact networks of Senior Executives across the African continent and a profitable, cash generative business,” Afinitas Executive Director Leutlwetse Tumelo said. 

 

The move follows the disclosure on the company’s prospectus after the Initial Public Offering (IPO), and subsequent listing on the BSE that it would acquire half of AFSIC for the nominal consideration of USD100m. Tumelo said following the listing of Afinitas on the BSE on 27 July, 2015, a new company Africa Events Limited (AEL) was incorporated and registered in Jersey on 31 July 2015. Founding shareholder of Afinitas and AEL, Rupert McCammon has ceded all of the future rights in AFSIC to AEL and Afinitas has acquired a 50 percent shareholding in AEL for the agreed consideration of USD100m.

 

The annual AFSIC is developing into Africa’s leading investment event for financial services companies, and is attended by delegates from a wide range of African countries and many of the continent’s most important institutional investors. This annual event, which next takes place in London in May 2016, shows promising early signs of developing into Africa’s leading investment conference for financial services companies. AFSIC 2016 will be the fourth AFSIC annual event and is likely to demonstrate continued growth in delegate numbers.

 

The value of this conference, now in its 4th year, to Afinitas could be considerable. As an example Mining Indaba, an investor conference which was developed specifically to promote Africa’s resource sector was recently sold for $65m to Euromoney Plc. 

The first AFSIC took place in Brighton, UK in May 2013 and AFSIC 2014 saw considerable growth with over 125 companies attending. The event grew considerably again in 2015 with more than 300 delegates (up 50% year on year) and over 220 companies attending representing 25 different African countries.

 

Afinitas said on its pre-listing prospectus that it was focused on establishing and developing new businesses across Africa. The company is due to publish interim financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2015. But Tumelo said at that interim reporting date, Afinitas had not yet commenced commercial operations and therefore had no revenues, operating expenses, assets or liabilities to report in its interim financial statements. 

Subsequently, the Company successfully raised P93.9m and was listed on the BSE on 27 July 2015. The capital raised and financial performance of the Company during the second half of the financial year will be reflected in the audited results for the year ended 31 December 2015.

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