8 Miles, a private equity firm that invested in Nigeria’s Beloxxi Industries has a minority stake in UK-incorporated Blue Skies.
Blue Skies is a fresh-cut tropical fruit producer with operations in several African countries.
8 Miles did not disclose how much it paid for the stake
Blue Skies was founded in 1997 and with more than 4,000 employees to its name, posted revenues of 89.6 million pounds ($113 million) for the year ending December 2016.
It has plans to expand its core fresh-cut fruit business, increase production capacity in South Africa, launch a fresh juice operation in Egypt and develop new product lines for some of its markets in Africa.
Africa-focused 8 Miles, whose name comes from the shortest distance between Europe and Africa across the Straits of Gibraltar, typically invests $15-$45 million at a time.
Other companies in 8 Miles portfolio includes Ethiopian wine producer Awash Wines, Ethiopian feedlot operator Verde Beef Processing, Uganda’s Biyinzika Poultry and Nigerian biscuit-maker Beloxxi Industries.
