Helios Investment Partners, an Africa focused PE firm that has a publicly listed affiliated entity (Helios Fairfax Partners), is out in the press detailing interest in carveouts of fintech groups from legacy Telcos and Banks.
The publicly traded entity trades at a fraction of its book value, made up of liquid and illiquid investments, cash, and the intangible value of a portion of the GP.
I hold a small amount of shares in this entity, but am interested to see if there’s a turn in the GP trajectory. If the GP can raise equal or larger successor funds despite the horrid Africa capital environment – I think the narrative on this company can turn. If the GP starts new product lines such as RE or bolsters credit, that could further accelerate trajectory of the valuation.
In the meantime, the company has guided to substantial dividends in the form of management fees and carry over the next year. We’ll see what they deliver, I don’t have strong confidence in the outcome, and as such this is a very small holding.