Invictus to Sell Up to 49% of Mozambique's Merec to Helios

Invictus Investment has agreed to sell up to 49% of Merec Industries, Mozambique's largest flour miller, to Helios Investment Partners, the Abu Dhabi-listed firm said in a bourse filing. The consideration was not disclosed. Nor were the implied valuation or the expected proceeds.

Helios Fund V is the buyer. The stake is held through Stratton Africa Holdings Limited, the Mauritius-incorporated parent company that carries Invictus's interest in Merec. Invictus retains majority ownership of the miller.

The agreement comes less than two years after Invictus bought Merec. That deal, for Merec's holding company, completed in January 2025 and was announced publicly in February 2025 at $189.6 million, or AED 696.4 million. It was part of a push into African food processing that also took Invictus into Morocco and Angola, where it acquired a 60% stake in grain trader Graderco and its subsidiaries.

Merec was founded in 1998 and produces flour, pasta, biscuits and animal feed at plants in Beira, Maputo and Nacala. It owns a grain terminal at the Port of Maputo. When Invictus acquired it, annual wheat and corn flour capacity exceeded 800,000 metric tons, pasta, biscuit and animal feed capacity exceeded 180,000 metric tons, and grain storage exceeded 145,000 metric tons.

Both shareholders intend to add product categories and expand into further markets across the Southern African Development Community.

Advisers and timetable

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and GDA Advogados advise Helios. Freshfields is legal counsel to Invictus. Completion is expected by the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The final equity interest Helios will hold, any gain or loss Invictus recognises on the sale, and potential additional capital commitments all remain unconfirmed.

Helios was established in 2004 and manages more than $3 billion in funds, investing in consumer businesses and other sectors across Africa.

Invictus reported 2025 revenue of $3.61 billion (AED 13.26 billion), up 49% year on year, net profit of $62 million (AED 227.6 million), up 37%, and EBITDA of $124.8 million (AED 458.5 million), up 184%. Commodity transaction volumes rose 73% to 14.2 million metric tons.

For Invictus, the sale turns part of a controlling position into outside capital without surrendering the asset, and pairs a regional food producer with an investor whose mandate covers African consumer businesses. The two will share the cost of the expansion they have outlined across the SADC region.