In this issue of the Weekly Deals Digest Series, food companies dominated the African investment scene while enterprise applications ruled the global deals space.
Sanergy put Africa on the spotlight with a $2.64 million Series B funding. Kirin’s $30 million investment into Indian beermaker Bira 91, looking to help the company break even in the fiscal year 2022.
For the first time, South Korea topped the global deals scene, following a $367 million investment into subscription network and broadcasting company JTBC.
Top Deals in Africa and Emerging Markets.
Sanergy topped deals in Africa in this issue of the weekly deals digest. The Nairobi based provider of non-sewered solutions raised $2.64 million in a recent Series B funding round.
In emerging markets, Kirin invested $20 million in Bira 91 in a Series D round in exchange for 10% stock in the Indian beverage maker. Bira 91 will use the investment to accelerate its expansion in Japan later in the year. Last August, the company announced plans to sell up to 20% stake to investors, including Kirin.
Jubilant FoodWorks announced a $12.5 million investment in India’s chain of offline restaurants Barbeque Nation in exchange for a 10.76% stake in its Series C funding round. Barbeque Nation owns and runs 138 restaurants across 73 cities in the country and 7 Barbeque Nation international restaurants.
Finally, Chilean provider of health benefits management software for employees Betterfly raised $9 million in an extension of its Series A funding round led by QED Investors. The investment brings its total Series A funding to $17.5 million, following an earlier $8.5 million in July. Betterfly will use the funds to expand its public offering, looking to expand into Brazil.
Top 4 Venture Deals Globally
JTBC raised $367 million by issuing convertible preferred shares to Tencent and Private Equity firm Praxis Capital partners. Praxis invested approximately $275 million for a 7.2% stake. JTBC will use the investment to expand both its streaming services and content.
Chinese Provider of cloud-based deep learning chips Enflame raised $278 million from Tencent, Primavera Capital Group, China International Capital Group and CITIC Group. The investment comes in the backdrop of heavy investment in AI in China, with Investment funds in the country expected to invest up to $30 billion.
Human Capital Management and Payroll Software company Payco raised $270 million from Neuberger Berman, Qatar Investment Authority, Leumi Partners, ClearBridge Investments, Franklin Templeton, and Teca Partners.
Lastly, SoftBank Group acquired Japanese construction startup Katerra, which offers a one-stop-shop approach for construction, from architectural design to management and renovation for $200 million.
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