Vlisco’s Attempt to Block Black Ownership is a Clear Example of How Europe Continues to Cheat the Continent.
In late February, Made in Africa (MIA), a consortium of African investors backed by Africa’s Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank), were in the midst of acquiring Vlisco Group from Actis, the British private equity firm with backing from CDC, an agency of the UK government. The deal valued the iconic Dutch textile company at $193 million, according to sources close to the matter.
One week before finalizing the agreement, Actis called off the process citing a lack of clarity around MIA’s closing timeline. However, according to multiple sources confirmed by the Guardian, the only remaining step in the process was signing the agreement and obtaining consent from Vlisco’s Works Council in the Netherlands.
Finalizing the transaction would have brought Vlisco under African ownership for the first time in the company’s 176-year history. Vlisco Group, which also owns Uniwax, Woodin, and GTP, is headquartered in the Netherlands and prints luxury fabrics that are sold almost exclusively in Africa.
Critics argue that Dutch wax (also known as ankara) is a colonial relic that should never be confused with authentic African textiles.“The Dutch largely created mechanical copies of our indigenous textiles like adire, then sold them back to us as a European luxury good for over 100 years. They take all the profits and invest them in Europe, leaving Africa underdeveloped and destroying our local textile market,” said Mariama Kamara, founder of Mariana Fashion Productions who helps link artisanal textile producers in West Africa with international brands.
Still others argue that ankara is a symbol of African culture and heritage. While planning to keep Vlisco’s printing operations in the Netherlands, MIA is seeking to create a long-term partnership between Nigeria and the Dutch manufacturer by migrating Vlisco’s cotton supply chain, which currently comes largely from Asia, to Nigeria and her neighboring countries. MIA’s plan will support over 87,000 small-hold cotton farmers in West Africa.
MIA also plans to diversify Vlisco’s leadership by replacing CFO Leendert van Reeuwijk, who has aspirations to become the company’s CEO despite the discovery of fraud in the Congo under his watch in 2019. According to sources close to the matter, after it became clear that MIA was planning to eventually bring in African senior management to replace David Suddens when he retires, van Reeuwijk convinced Actis to kill the MIA deal in order to save his job. Instead, Vlisco’s European management team recently announced that they would lead a buyout with backing from Parcom, a Dutch firm with no experience investing in Africa. Parcom has agreed to let van Reeuwijk remain in control of Vlisco unopposed when Suddens retires.
According to a letter from Mishcon deReya seen by the Guardian, Parcom’s offer for Vlisco violated MIA’s exclusivity and is significantly lower than the valuation offered by Made in Africa, meaning that Actis and the British government are willing to sacrifice British taxpayer money to ensure that this Vlisco remains under European control.
“It’s sad to see this kind of thing still happening in Africa today,” said Obi Asika, an influential Nigerian entrepreneur. “A group of Africans have come together to do something for Africa and one neocolonialist was able to thwart the whole project. I hope Africans wake up and continue to fight against all modern forms of colonialism.”
In 2019, after decades of skirting Nigerian import duties through illegal cross border trade, Vlisco Group was forced to shut their operations in Nigeria, their largest market. The Nigerian Central Bank cited the Dutch manufacturer for foreign exchange infractions and froze the company’s bank accounts. As of the date of this article, Vlisco is still unable to legally operate in Nigeria.
Oluseyi Inioluwa, an economist and sociologist, is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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