South African billionaire's son takes full control of Nigeria's biggest beverage canmaker

Jonathan Oppenheimer, son of South African billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer, has acquired full control of Nigeria’s biggest beverage canmaker, betting on a revival in Africa’s largest economy.

Oppenheimer Partners Ltd. bought the shares it didn’t own in GZ Industries Ltd. from Affirma Capital, formerly known as Standard Chartered Private Equity, according to a statement from Affirma on Thursday, which didn’t disclose financial details. The private equity firm had a 37.5% stake in the supplier of cans to companies including Coca-Cola Co.

The acquisition is likely to help Oppenheimer, whose family founded mining giant Anglo American Plc and turned De Beers into the world’s largest diamond producer, shape GZI’s growth in sub-Saharan African. Urban, educated adults in the region consume 12.4 servings of sugary drinks per week — the highest in the world, according to a research published by Nature Communications.

Oppenheimer Partners first bought into the business in 2018, when GZI built a factory in South Africa, where it now has a market share of about 20%. It competes with the loss-making Nampak Ltd., which is selling assets and restructuring debt. Affirma first invested in GZI in 2012.

GZI produces 3 billion aluminum cans a year in Africa.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday outlined his government’s 2024 spending plans projected at 27.5 trillion naira ($34 billion), aiming to “achieve job-rich economic growth, macro-economic stability, a better investment environment.”

Affirma has invested in 11 companies in Africa since 2008, and has completed exits from eight, returning more than $800 million to investors over the period.

The Oppenheimer family has a combined net worth of $9.4 billion, largely through the 2012 sale of their stake in De Beers for about $5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.