South African Billionaire Family ‘Oppenheimer’ Acquires Gz Industries Ltd

Oppenheimer, a South African billionaire family has completed acquisition of one of Nigeria's biggest can makers, GZ Industries Ltd.

The transaction was completed by Jonathan Oppenheimer, who is supposedly known as one of the sons of the second richest man in Africa, Nicky Oppenheimer, who has now taken over the full control of GZ Industries Ltd., Nigeria's largest beverage makers, signaling a stake on the potential revitalization of Africa's biggest economy.

Bloomberg announced the acquisition in its report as Oppenheimer Partners Limited completed the final acquisition of the remaining shares of GZ Industries from Affirima Capital, formerly called 'Standard Chartered Private Equity'.

However, the financial specifications of the deal remain disclosed, the private equity company has held a significant 37.5% stake in GZ Industries, a key supplier of cans to major entities such as Coca-Cola Co.

GZ Industries Ltd began its first operation in Nigeria in 2019. And Ayodeji Adelakun was the Executive Director and Group Chief Executive Officer of the can makers.

With the acquisition of the firm by Jonathan Oppenheimer, GZ Industries expansion within sub-Saharan Africa and beyond will be seamless as the new holders have what it takes to steer a better trajectory path for GZ Industries.

According to a research published by Nature Communications, the region stands as a pivotal market, with urban, educated adults boasting the world’s highest consumption of sugary drinks, averaging 12.4 servings per week.

Oppenheimer Partners initially entered the GZI venture in 2018, coinciding with the establishment of a GZI factory in South Africa.

Presently, GZI holds a 20% market share in the South African market, engaging in competition with the financially challenged Nampak Ltd., which is in the process of selling assets and restructuring debt, report shows.

It's also said that Affirma Capital’s initial investment in GZI began in  2012.

GZ Industries Ltd., has a production capacity of manufacturing 3 billion aluminum cans annually in Africa, and out of this figure, 1,800,000,000 of these aluminum cans are produced in Nigeria.