Africa Capitalworks (“ACW”), a Sub-Saharan Africa-focused private equity company, announces a significant equity investment in Dorman Long Engineering Limited (“DLE”) of Nigeria.

DLE is an indigenous and market leading company, providing high value engineering services, fabrication, asset management and galvanising services to a range of high quality international and domestic customers. DLE operates three manufacturing facilities in the Lagos area, one at its head office at Idi-Oro, the galvanising plant in Agege and the waterfront facility at Navy Dockyard. The company employs over 400 people.

DLE has successfully executed major engineering services works, including onshore flow stations and major structural fabrication and erection, amongst others, for almost all oil majors and energy services companies operating in Nigeria, including Shell, Mobil, Addax, Agip, NLNG, Chevron, Saipem, Daewoo, Dangote Group, Nigerian Navy, American Towers Company and JC Decaux. ACW’s investment will allow DLE to expand existing yards, acquire additional facilities and expand its service offering.

Nana Sao, Managing Partner of ACW, said: “We look forward to partnering with the DLE team to support its next phase of growth. DLE has built a strong reputation over 70 years of operating in Nigeria and its manufacturing facilities have internationally-recognised quality and product certifications. We are thrilled to support DLE’s accomplished management team in this dynamic sector.”

“This investment marks the start of a new journey for Dorman Long, and I am delighted in the vote of confidence executed by our partner, ACW.” said Dr. Timi Austen-Peters, DLE Chairman. “The hard work, focus and dedication of our team during this process further showcases the depth of our capacity and our resilience to overcome economic challenges, including cyclical oil prices, the CoVID-19 pandemic and the business environment in Nigeria. We have partnered with ACW on the basis of its complementary skillset, strategic insights and differentiated value proposition as a permanent capital vehicle. We look forward to accelerating the implementation of our growth plans and expanding our rich range of capabilities and geographical presence.”

About Africa Capitalworks

Africa Capitalworks is part of the Capitalworks Group, which is a leading independent alternative asset manager concentrating in emerging markets. Capitalworks manages over US$1 billion for a diverse range of investors, including high quality international institutional investors, commercial banks, insurance companies, pension funds, family offices and high net worth individuals. Capitalworks’ philosophy is centered on building exceptional businesses through partnering with leading entrepreneurs and management teams. ACW is a permanent capital vehicle focused on the mid-market in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, and combines the deployment of patient capital with a strong partnership approach.

About Dorman Long

Dorman Long Engineering Limited, established in Nigeria in 1949, is a leading indigenous oilfields equipment, structural steel, marine structures engineering and fabrication company. The company focuses on oil and gas (onshore and offshore), telecommunications, manufacturing, and power industries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Dorman Long Engineering has been and continues to be a major contributor to Nigeria’s industrial and infrastructure development.

Intuit, the global technology platform that makes TurboTax, QuickBooks, Mint, and Credit Karma, today announced that it has agreed to acquire Mailchimp, a world-class, global customer engagement and marketing platform for growing small and mid-market businesses.

The planned acquisition of Mailchimp for approximately $12 billion in cash and stock advances Intuit’s mission of powering prosperity around the world, and its strategy to become an AI-driven expert platform. With the acquisition of Mailchimp, Intuit will accelerate two of its previously-shared strategic Big Bets: to become the center of small business growth; and to disrupt the small business mid-market.

Together, Intuit and Mailchimp will work to deliver on the vision of an innovative, end-to-end customer growth platform for small and mid-market businesses, allowing them to get their business online, market their business, manage customer relationships, benefit from insights and analytics, get paid, access capital, pay employees, optimize cash flow, be organized and stay compliant, with experts at their fingertips. Delivering on the promise to be the single source of truth, small and mid-market businesses will have the power to combine their customer data from Mailchimp and QuickBooks’ purchase data to get the actionable insights they need to grow and run their businesses with confidence.

“We’re focused on powering prosperity around the world for consumers and small businesses. Together, Mailchimp and QuickBooks will help solve small and mid-market businesses’ biggest barriers to growth, getting and retaining customers,” said Sasan Goodarzi, CEO of Intuit. “Expanding our platform to be at the center of small and mid-market business growth helps them overcome their most important financial challenges. Adding Mailchimp furthers our vision to provide an end-to-end customer growth platform to help our customers grow and run their businesses, putting the power of data in their hands to thrive.”

Facebook, Inc. and Ray-Ban releases the next generation of smart glasses, Ray-Ban Stories. The highly anticipated collaboration brings forward a new way to seamlessly capture, share and listen through your most authentic moments. The announcement was made today by Mark Zuckerberg and Rocco Basilico in a virtual announcement detailing the partnership and the exciting capabilities.

Leading Ray-Ban Stories’ product lineup with the most recognizable style, an icon since the 1950’s is Wayfarer and Wayfarer Large. Facebook and EssilorLuxottica, Ray-Ban’s parent company, were able to engineer smart technology to support all-day wear, including an optimized Snapdragon processor, without compromising style, comfort, and aesthetic, but most of all the weight, with just 5gr more than a standard pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer. Ray-Ban Stories include a dual integrated 5MP camera to capture photo and video; discreet open-ear speakers to listen, and a three-microphone audio array to deliver rich voice and sound transmission for calls and videos. You can also find Ray-Ban Stories in a variety of other iconic styles such as the legendary, retro Round and the super iconic Meteor. Starting at $299 (CAD 369, EUR 329, GBP 299, AUD 449) you can add flare to your style by choosing various lenses: sun, prescription, polarized, gradient, Transitions® and clear.

In addition to an iconic design built with innovative technology, Ray-Ban Stories launches in conjunction with a companion app, Facebook View (iOS and Android), creating an easy way to import, edit, and share content captured on the smart glasses with the ability to upload on any social app stored on your phone: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and more.

“We are incredibly proud to bring Ray-Ban Stories to life with our partners at Facebook,” said Rocco Basilico, Chief Wearables Officer at EssilorLuxottica. “This is a milestone product that proves consumers don’t have to choose between technology and fashion – they can live in the moment and stay connected while wearing their favorite style of Ray-Ban’s. Our unique approach, combining decades of superior

craftsmanship, a dedicated spirit of innovation and a commitment to delivering only cutting edge technology has resulted in a wearable that people will truly love wearing.”

“Ray-Ban Stories is designed to help people live in the moment and stay connected to the people they are with and the people they wish they were with. EssilorLuxottica has been nothing short of stellar in this partnership and through their commitment to excellence we were able to deliver on both style and substance in a way that will redefine the expectations of smart glasses. We’re introducing an entirely new way for people to stay connected to the world around them and truly be present in life’s most important moments, and to look good while doing it,” said Andrew Bosworth, Vice President, Facebook Reality Labs.

Ray-Ban Stories is available at Ray-Ban stores and Ray-Ban.com beginning on September 9th in the US, UK, Italy, Australia, Ireland and Canada. On Monday, September 13th it will be available at select Luxottica retail banners including SunglassHut, LensCrafters, OPSM, David Clulow and Salmoiraghi & Viganò and soon after available also at selected wholesale clients.