Investment firm LeapFrog succesfully divests from East African pharmacy chain following an eight-year tenure.
In a significant move, LeapFrog Investments has sold its remaining stake in Goodlife Pharmacies, East Africa's leading pharmacy chain, to CFAO Healthcare. This transaction marks LeapFrog's complete exit from Goodlife, consolidating CFAO's position as a leading healthcare player in East Africa.
The sale, which resulted in CFAO acquiring full ownership and control of Goodlife Pharmacies and its parent company, Africa Chemist and Beauty Care (ACBC), is expected to accelerate Goodlife's development into the region's largest retail pharmacy chain. Serving over two million consumers annually across over 100 locations in Kenya and Uganda, Goodlife offers a wide range of pharmaceuticals, beauty and wellness products, diagnostics, and primary care services.
The transaction began with a strategic partnership in 2022, when LeapFrog sold a minority stake to CFAO Healthcare, making the latter the second-largest shareholder in Goodlife. This partnership has now culminated in CFAO Healthcare purchasing a majority stake of 69.9% in ACBC and its subsidiaries from LeapFrog Investments and management shareholders.
The deal is a testament to the increasing role of private capital in African healthcare. It signifies a milestone in proving the viability of private investments in enlarging and improving healthcare access and quality in underfunded markets.
CFAO Healthcare, the healthcare division of French conglomerate CFAO Group, operates in 24 countries in Africa, as well as six French overseas territories. The company produces licensed drugs in Morocco and Algeria and is the wholesale distributor of pharmaceuticals in Africa. The acquisition of Goodlife Pharmacies is expected to drive further transformation of Goodlife into a global healthcare player by enhancing accessibility, quality of service, and innovation in pharmaceutical retail in East Africa.
LeapFrog Investments, an emerging markets-focused private equity and impact investment firm, has raised nearly $3 billion in commitments from over 100 institutional investors across six funds. The firm invests in growth-led impact opportunities in emerging markets, primarily in Asia and Africa, across three broad verticals—financial services, healthcare, and climate.
Besides Goodlife Pharmacies, LeapFrog's pharmacy portfolio includes Mumbai-based Ascent Meditech and East Africa-focused Pyramid Pharma, among others. The firm's financial services portfolio consists of 21 investments, including Ghana's Fidelity Bank and India's CarDekho.
The final close of LeapFrog's fourth fund was marked in November 2024, securing commitments and co-investments worth $1.02 billion. Other limited partners for the fund include insurers AIA and Prudential Financial, and development finance institutions like the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the US Development Finance Corporation. Singapore's Temasek is also a limited partner for the fund.
In conclusion, the sale of LeapFrog's stake in Goodlife Pharmacies to CFAO Healthcare strengthens CFAO's footprint in East Africa, allowing for greater scale and capability to innovate in the regional pharmacy sector. It also marks a successful exit for LeapFrog, having helped modernize pharmaceutical retail in the region.
The sale of LeapFrog's stake in Goodlife Pharmacies to CFAO Healthcare not only strengthens CFAO's presence in East Africa's health-and-wellness sector but also signifies the expansion of CFAO's role as a significant player in science-driven health solutions. With this acquisition, Goodlife Pharmacies, under CFAO's leadership, is poised to deliver improved health outcomes and promote a culture of wellness across the region.
