(Ecofin Agency) - New Veld, an Africa-focused investment platform set up in 2016 by U.S. insurer Prudential and Mauritius-based private equity firm LeapFrog plans to buy a 33% minority stake in Alexander Forbes. The latter is a South African financial services and pension fund management company. The buyers bid the equivalent of $50 million in local currency.

“The transaction builds upon Prudential Financial’s partnership with LeapFrog Investments to access high-growth financial services markets in Africa and deliver essential financial tools to emerging consumers. Since 2016, Prudential Financial and LeapFrog Investments have invested in high-quality market leaders across the African continent, including Enterprise Group in Ghana and ICEA LION in Kenya,” Alexander Forbes explained in a note to investors.

The offer, which was announced last March 18 at R5.5 per share, boosted the value of Alexander Forbes by 24.47%. However, there is still room for improvement, as the company's stock was worth only 4.68 rand on Monday, March 21.

Also, the operation has not yet been approved by both South African and Mauritian regulators. “This transaction underscores Prudential’s continued focus on Africa as a strategically important growth market and our vision to be a global leader in expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security. We identified Alexander Forbes as the market leader in South Africa best capable of advancing our vision and strategy,” said Pavan Dhamija, Prudential Financial’s regional president (Africa, India, Indonesia, and Business Development).

Let’s recall that Mercer, a U.S.-based human resources consulting firm, which had acquired shares in Alexander Forbes in July 2014, at the time of its initial public offering, also unveiled plan to divest its shares.