Bravura has successfully advised on the sale of Goldenlay, a fully automated table egg production business in Zambia. The purchaser was the Belgian agri-food company Vanden Avenne Group. The transaction highlights Bravura’s ability to unlock international demand for high-quality African assets while navigating structural, operational and cross-border complexity.
Goldenlay is a vertically integrated table egg producer, operating across agricultural landholdings and advanced production facilities. The business has established itself as one of Zambia’s most sophisticated egg production platforms, supported by automation, feed integration and experienced local management.
At the end of its fund investment cycle, the controlling shareholder, the African Agricultural Fund (AAF) managed by Phatisa, appointed Bravura to run a structured and competitive sale process. The mandate was clear: attract the right long-term partner, while maximising value across the broader asset base.
A competitive international process
Drawing on its extensive international network, Bravura engaged a broad set of local and offshore strategic and financial investors, ultimately securing interest from multiple credible bidders. This depth of interest reflected both the quality of the asset and Bravura’s ability to access diverse pools of capital across jurisdictions.
Each proposal was assessed not only on value, but also on cultural alignment, operational philosophy and the ability to partner effectively with existing management, ensuring a sustainable outcome for all stakeholders.
The successful purchaser, Vanden Avenne Group, is a Belgian, family-owned agri-food group with major activities in feed and animal protein production and processing. The transaction introduces international ownership into Goldenlay while retaining and incentivising local management to support the business’s next phase of growth.
Managing complexity, unlocking additional value
The transaction involved a dual-company structure separating operating assets and landholdings in Zambia. Beyond executing the sale of the core operating business, Bravura also played a key role in identifying and unlocking value from surplus land not required for ongoing operations, ensuring that non-core assets were realised at optimal levels within the broader transaction.
In parallel, Bravura balanced the priorities of exiting shareholders, minority investors, senior lenders and incoming owners, delivering a carefully aligned outcome across the capital structure.
Minority shareholders, including AgDevCo, were successfully exited, and senior lenders were repaid in full, reinforcing the strength of the outcome throughout the capital stack.
A deal built on perseverance and judgement
Reflecting on the transaction, Ryan Burns, Partner at Phatisa commented:
“We are grateful for the lengths the Bravura team went to in delivering a successful outcome for all parties. The transaction demanded persistence, sound judgement and patience, and Bravura demonstrated all three throughout the process. Beyond this transaction, we value our ongoing relationship with Bravura and the depth of commitment they bring to complex African investments.”
In the words of Patrick Vanden Avenne, Chairman, Vanden Avenne:
“This transaction would never have happened without Bravura.”
For Bravura, the Goldenlay transaction exemplifies its approach to dealmaking: combining international reach, technical excellence and judgement-led execution — not only to complete transactions, but to extract, protect and enhance value in all its forms.
