Zimbabwe’s competition regulator is assessing the recent takeover of Dendairy by Vamara, a company that is part of the ETG-Parrogate Group, which owns the ZimGold range of consumer brands.
The transaction is being led by Vamara together with 3DZ Capital, which is owned by Dendairy director Daryl Archbald, according to a filing with the Competition and Tariff Commission, which is processing the deal.
Dendairy has previously explored other strategic options. In 2021, the company sought a merger with Dairibord, Zimbabwe’s largest dairy producer. However, the talks collapsed after the parties failed to agree on the structure of the business following the merger.
At the time, Archbald said he wanted a deal in which the Kwekwe operations would be “greatly expanded and we are actively involved in any future entity”. Had it succeeded, the deal would have brought together two of the country’s three largest dairy processors.
ETG has steadily increased its footprint in Zimbabwe in recent years. In 2019, the group took over textile firm David Whitehead and has since invested US$20 million to revive the factory and support its cotton supply chain. With ETG’s involvement, Dendairy is already looking to expand beyond dairy into the production of stockfeed and fertilisers.
Dendairy was founded in 2004 by the Coetzee family. In 2015, the business attracted a 27% investment from Scandinavian private equity firm Spear Capital.
