Rapid growth in Africa’s buyout industry, coupled with the lingering commodities bust, has raised concerns that a private equity bubble is imminent. "There is a lot of private equity money flowing in and there will be long tears," African Rainbow Capital co-CEO Johan van Zyl told a forum organised by law firm Hogan Lovells. "The cycles are quite severe in Africa, much deeper than what you see in Europe." People planning to invest and sell quickly brought "the wrong kind of money", he warned. "Their terms aren’t really aligned to the opportunity. The African opportunity is essentially a long-term one." The Boston Consulting Group, a business consulting firm, found only 12 private equity funds based in Africa, managing a combined $1bn, existed in the early 1990s. By the end of 2015, there were more than 200, with $30bn in assets. "In the view of some analysts, the growth has come too fast," said Boston Consulting. "Too much money is chasing too few sound investments, they [analysts] f...
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