Private equity firm Helios inks joint deal with Acorn

Private equity firm Helios Investment Partners has entered into a joint venture with property developer Acorn Group, giving the erstwhile Britam partner the financial muscle to undertake large real estate projects.

The deal is a 50:50 joint partnership, according to sources familiar with the deal. Both parties, however, declined to disclose the structure and value of the deal.

Helios will also help raise funds to bankroll Acorn’s real estate projects.

“Our partnership with Acorn is directly aligned with Helios’ core investment themes, seeking opportunities where there is a large and growing market, and that address supply side market deficiencies,” said Alykhan Nathoo, a partner at Helios.

The Helios deal comes barely a fortnight after Acorn parted ways with Britam — which owned a 25 per cent stake in the property firm — in an out-of-court deal after a yearlong protracted legal battle over alleged fraud.

The Business Daily on Monday exclusively reported that Acorn Group chief executive Edward Kirathe was in talks with a global PE firm to buy into the company.

It is expected that Helios will get a seat on the board of Acorn as earlier promised by Mr Kirathe.

“Real estate is capital intensive. We’ll develop a new deal pipeline,” said Mr Kirathe in an earlier interview.

The Acorn deal adds to Helios’ portfolio in Kenya which includes Wananchi Group and Vivo Energy (which trades in Kenya as Shell), Africa Oil and Interswitch.