NOVA CLIENT BLUE FINANCIAL SERVICES RECEIVES DEBT AND EQUITY CAPITAL FROM ECP INVESTMENTS AND WORLDBUSINESS CAPITAL
New York, NY – August 20, 2008 – Nova Capital Partners, LLC has announced that Blue Financial Services Ltd., a South African based microfinance company that serves 10 countries across sub-Saharan Africa, has received a total capital infusion of $25 million from two leading international firms, Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) and WorldBusiness Capital, Inc. (WBC) in two recent transactions.
ECP, an international private equity firm focused on investing in Africa, invested $15 million into Blue. The investment was in the form of a convertible bond and common shares and supports Blue’s ongoing efforts to expand its operations and generate future growth. The Blue investment was made through ECP's $523 million ECP Africa Fund II.
"Blue Financial's proven business model and the opportunity for growth across sub-Saharan Africa make the company an attractive private equity investment," said Tom Gibian, chief executive officer of ECP. "The company also fits well into ECP's philosophy of investing in established, profitable businesses and successful management teams that need an inflow of capital in order to expand their operations."
In addition to the ECP investment, Blue received a $10 million long-term credit facility from United States-based lender WorldBusiness Capital, which is a commercial finance company that specializes in loans for small to mid-sized businesses in emerging markets. The debt facility was used to support Blue’s international expansion and was backed by a guarantee by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Brett Silvers, president of WBC, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Blue Financial as a client and to provide long-term debt financing for their lending activities in East Africa. WBC looks forward to supporting Blue's expansion in additional African markets."
The total $25 million infusion of capital was a key development for Blue Financial Services, which is listed on the Alternative Exchange Index of the JSE Stock Exchange. Nova Capital Partners led the ECP and WBC transactions and advised Blue throughout the transaction processes. Mark Allegretti, Managing Director at Nova Capital, said, “These capital infusions represent additional major financing milestones for Blue as it continues to expand its business and Nova Capital was pleased to once again lead the offerings and advise Blue on these important transactions.”
For more information on this transaction please contact Mark Allegretti, Managing Director, at Nova Capital Partners, LLC at (212) 321-7093, or email at mallegretti@novacapitalpartners.com
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