Emerging markets private equity firm Actis has acquired 100 percent of Vlisco Group, which produces designer wax fashion fabrics, for $151 million, according to a press statement.
Vlisco Group is a 164-year-old business with a mid-tier business Uniwax and the more contemporary, GTP and Woodin, which “have a strong following among African consumers and are also drawing increasing attention from luxury fashion designers globally,” a statement read.
The company designs, manufactures and distributes 51 million yards of branded fabric a year for consumption primarily in West and Central Africa, including Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin.
Its manufacturing operations are based in Holland (Vlisco), Ghana (GTP and Woodin) and Ivory Coast (Uniwax and Woodin).
Paul Fletcher, senior partner at Actis said, “The Vlisco Group portfolio of brands are contemporary, proudly African and share an extraordinary heritage of design innovation; grounded in tradition but adapted to the needs of a growing consumer class.”
Actis is backing Hans Ouwendijk as the new CEO of Vlisco Group.
