LOGISTICS firm Imperial Holdings’ market access business has acquired a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution (AFMCG), which is part of the Chanrai Group of companies.
Imperial is owned by Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s biggest operators of marine ports and inland cargo terminals, with gateways from London to Antwerp as well as hubs in Africa, India, Russia and the Americas.
AFMCG is a multi-faceted business, distributing products that positively impact the lives of consumers in Africa every day.
“The business offers a nationwide and best-in-class route-to-market solution across multiple channels in Nigeria. Its services also extend to co-manufacturing, co-packing, sourcing, and value-added services in the fast-moving consumer goods sector (FMCG),” Imperial said.
Representing some of the world’s leading multinational FMCG companies and their brands, AFMCG has a wide-ranging product portfolio and is managed by an experienced and professional team, supported by robust technology and infrastructure, it said.
DP World chairperson and chief executive Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem said this transaction was aligned with their ambition to become the leading market access and logistics partner in Africa, by connecting trade flows into and out of the continent.
“AFMCG boasts unmatched route-to-market solutions in Nigeria and also offers strategic value to DP World from a supply chain and fintech perspective, in line with our strategic objective of leveraging assets and logistics to create an integrated global supply chain – from the factory floor to customer door,” he said.
With a business legacy built through the Chanrai Group of companies for over 130 years, AFMCG has long-standing relationships with multinational FMCG companies, was a leading player in the Nigerian consumer market, and had demonstrated good corporate citizenship through its broad-based social impact initiatives, Imperial said.
DP World Logistics chief operating officer and group chief executive Mohammed Akoojee said: “Being one of the largest economies on the African continent, with attractive demographic and macro-economic fundamentals, Nigeria boasts a significant consumer market and AFMCG presents an ideal opportunity with the necessary scale for us to leverage to sell truly pan-African solutions to our principals and clients.”
Last year, Imperial fell under new ownership following a R12.7 billion cash bid by Dubai-based ports operator DP World Logistics to buy Imperial.
BUSINESS REPORT