SENS: EPE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD – Quarterly update as at 31 March 2018

QUARTERLY UPDATE AS AT 31 MARCH 2018 

Ethos Capital is an investment holding company, registered and incorporated in Mauritius as a public company.  It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and offers shareholders long-term capital appreciation by making commitments and investments into Funds or Direct Investments that are managed by Ethos Private Equity (Pty) Limited (“Ethos”), providing the Company with exposure to a diversified portfolio of unlisted private equity type investments (“Portfolio Companies”).

Below is a voluntary update of the financial and operational results and progress of the Company since 31 December 2017. 

NAV 

At 31 March 2018, Ethos Capital’s underlying net asset value (“NAV”) (net of treasury shares) was R1.9 billion, with the NAV per share increasing to R10.84 (R10.76 at 31 December 2017). 

Invested capital 

Ethos Capital’s invested capital as at 31 March 2018 was R787 million, c. 42% of the 31 March 2018 NAV.  The investment portfolio provides Ethos Capital with underlying exposure to twelve Portfolio Companies that have representation across a diverse set of industries, sectors and vintage years. 

The Ethos Mid Market Fund I had its final close in May 2018, raising R2.5 billion which reduced Ethos Capital’s participation in the Fund to 38% (based on its increased commitment of R950 million).  As part of the equalisation, Ethos Capital will receive a c. R89 million repayment of cost as well as an income return of c. R12 million.

Commitments

As noted above, Ethos Capital’s Investment Strategy is to make commitments into Funds managed by Ethos, through a combination of Primary, Direct and Secondary Investments.  At 31 March 2018, Ethos Capital had total commitments to Ethos Funds and Direct Investments of R1.3 billion (c. 68% of the 31 March 2018 NAV).  The Company had liquid resources of R1.1 billion to meet any outstanding commitments and in addition, the Company has a four-year revolving credit facility that, once activated, will provide access to R0.6 billion of additional resources for the Company. 

In support of this strategy, Ethos Capital made a first close commitment of R250 million to Ethos Mezzanine Partners Fund 3, which in total raised R1.2 billion in first close commitments.  Ethos Capital’s intended final close commitment to this Fund is R320 million. 

In addition, during May 2018, Ethos Capital made a first close commitment to the Ethos Healthcare Investment Platform that has since completed its first investment.  Ethos Capital intends to commit a total of R250 million to this Platform. 

The Ethos Capital Board has approved a first close commitment to Ethos Fund VII of R1.25 billion with an intended commitment at final close of R2.15 billion. 

In March, the Board approved a R150 million commitment to the Ethos Ai Fund. 

Commitments to the Ethos Funds fall within the Investment Strategy and are classified, where the commitment is in excess of 10% of the Company’s market capitalisation, as a Category 2 transaction in terms of the JSE Listings Requirements and accordingly do not require Ethos Capital shareholder approval.

Investment pipeline

The past six months have been very active from an investing perspective across all of the Ethos Funds.  In addition to the transactions which were completed up to the end of Q1 2018, a further five transactions have been signed on behalf of the Funds and are subject only to confirmatory due diligence and regulatory approval. The Ethos Capital contribution for these signed transactions is c. R200 million. Ethos is also in advanced and exclusive discussions on a further three transactions for the Funds. The Ethos Capital contribution for these transactions is expected to be c. R570 million.   

The total capital investment for Ethos Capital on the above transactions, if they all complete, would be up to R770 million which could increase the current invested capital to c. R1.5 billion, c. 78% of the 31 March 2018 NAV.  While there can be no certainty that all of these transactions will complete, Ethos remains confident that it will be able to close on the majority of these investments. 

Repurchase of shares 

The Ethos Capital Board is committed to a policy of enhancing long-term shareholder value.  During the quarter, the Company continued to repurchase shares. As at 31 March 2018, the number of A Ordinary Shares repurchased and held in treasury, increased to 5.4 million, representing 2.9% of the issued A Ordinary Shares.  The Board will continue to monitor the Company’s share price performance and the discount to NAV.

Disclaimer

The financial information on which this announcement is based, has not been audited, reviewed and reported on by the Company’s external auditors.