- Revego Fund Managers seeks to raise 3 billion rand ($165 million) to expand its renewable energy portfolio and move toward a potential stock market listing.
- The fund targets assets across sub-Saharan Africa, with current investments primarily in South Africa, including a significant 150-megawatt solar plant.
- Chief Investment Officer Ziyaad Sarang aims to list the fund once it reaches $500 million in assets, emphasising the need for liquidity and scale to attract institutional investors.
Revego Fund Managers, Africa’s leading fund for renewable energy assets, seeks new investors for a potential stock market listing. Chief Investment Officer Ziyaad Sarang announced plans to raise 3 billion rand ($165 million) to grow its portfolio, adding to the two billion-rand Revego Africa Energy Fund, which focuses on dividend flows.
Sarang stated the fund will consider listing once it reaches $500 million in assets. Currently, it has a pipeline of 10 billion rand in potential investments. “We are in due diligence with two investors,” Sarang said. “We need development finance institutions, institutional investors, and pension funds to help us scale up.”
The open-ended fund began investing in August 2021, targeting assets across sub-Saharan Africa. A joint venture between the UK government and Macquarie Asset Management Ltd. provided initial backing. The fund offers investors returns while freeing developers’ capital to build new plants.
“We focus on recycling capital from developers,” Sarang said. A company study shows the region needs $193 billion in renewable energy investment by 2031. “To increase investment, we need an efficient financial system with primary investment and secondary-market capital recycling.”
Investec Bank Ltd. and the Eskom Pension and Provident Fund, which manages pensions for South Africa’s state power utility workers, also provided initial funding. The Eskom fund may invest more, but the other cornerstone investors are unlikely to contribute further.
“Our long-term goal is to list the fund,” Sarang stated. “Institutional investors want liquidity and scale.”
Sarang has 25 years of experience in power, mining, and infrastructure transactions. He previously led infrastructure at Standard Bank Group Ltd. and worked for Investec.
Though the fund focuses on the region, all ten current investments are in South Africa, the sub-Saharan region’s largest renewable energy market. Last year, the fund invested in a 150-megawatt solar plant in South Africa’s Free State province. This plant will be the first to supply electricity to multiple private buyers, including Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV.
Revego Fund Managers pushes to expand Africa’s renewable energy capacity. The fund’s strategy involves raising significant capital and efficiently recycling it into new projects. The firm’s efforts aim to meet the substantial investment needs identified in their study, positioning themselves as key players in the renewable energy sector.