(Ecofin Agency) - “A hidden jewel of the mass consumption sector”. That is how Duet’s number one, Henry Gabay, qualified the Société Africaine des Produits Laitiers et Dérivés (SAPLED). Duet has in fact recently announced it acquired the Ivorian dairy and fruit-juice products manufacturer from Sifaoui. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

The group thus adds to its assets the Tampico licence which is one of the most renowned brands of West Africa’s fruit juice industry. For Duet, this is a bet on the growing demand for manufactured products. The group believes that this growth will record a two-digit rate in the next years.

SAPLED will be controlled by Duet Consumer Ivory Coast Holdings (DCICH) which has been established to this end. Samir Farhat will be SAPLED’s CEO and DCICH will have Frederic Pecastaings, a former executive at Danone, as president of non-member Council of Directorate.  

Satisfied by the investment, Maty Ndiaye who heads Duet’s Private equity division said: “SAPLED will help establish a large region business not only because of its actual portfolio but also because of the possibility to develop new products. We are glad to work with this dynamic team and to bring them unto the next stage of their development.”  

Duet is a British assets management group with a portfolio of more than $5.6 billion.

Aaron Akinocho