CAIRO: Five leading international investors have “fully subscribed” to increase the funds for Africa Railways, a platform company of Citadel Capital, by putting forth $70 million (LE 426.5 million) to fund the Rift Valley Railways of Kenya and Uganda. “This brings to more than $319.3 million the total equity and debt raised by Citadel Capital and its platform companies since the beginning of the year,” Citadel announced in a statement. IFC African, Latin American and Caribbean Fund, LP (ALAC), the private equity fund managed by the IFC Asset Management Company put forth $20.2 million, the Dutch Development Bank FMO put forth $15 million, and the German Development Finance Institution DEG with $14 million. Moreover, a vehicle dedicated to convoy in Sub-Saharan Africa owned by France's Agence Francaise de Development and managed by its subsidiary PROPARCO that cost $10.7 million, while the International Finance Corporation put forth $10.1 million. After the increase, Africa Railways, the firm's platform for investments in the African rail transportation sector, has total paid-in capital of $110 million. “Africa Railways will use the proceeds from the capital raising to fund portfolio company Rift Valley Railways (RVR), which has a 25-year concession to operate a century-old rail line with some 2,352 kilometers of track linking the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya to the interiors of Kenya and Uganda, including the capital of Kampala,” the statement read. In August, Citadel had announced that Africa Railways acquired $164 million in financing from six global development finance institutions and a Kenyan bank. Earlier this year, the firm also acquired $21 in financing from DEG and the European Investment Bank for the Firm's Egyptian river transportation platform and a combined $25.5 million in equity and debt from the IFC to complete construction of a paper mill being built by a portfolio company of Grandview Holdings, its mid-cap investment platform.
