The Deal is the Private Equity Firm’s First Foray in Africa.
By Simon Clark
LONDON—For private equity giant KKR & Co., a debut investment in Africa smells of sweetheart roses.
Afriflora is an Ethiopian company that grows about 730 million of the flowers a year for export to Europe, making it a significant player in the east African country’s blossoming cut flower export industry. KKR is investing about $200 million from its $6.2 billion European fund to buy a stake in the company, according to a person familiar with the transaction.
The deal opens a new chapter for KKR, the New York-based firm best-known for its hostile $25 billion leveraged takeover of RJR Nabisco  in 1988, the subject of the book “Barbarians at the Gate.”
