In August, Temasek Holdings and the Oppenheimer family announced that their were creating a joint venture that would look for private equity investments in Africa. The fund was named Tana Africa Capital and would focus on consumer and agricultural investments.

To be frank, I paid little attention to the announcement.  $300 million, spilt between two partners, isn’t that much. It seemed to me that the sole reason the fund that was created was a way for the two to set a foundation for future more lucrative investments. Sure, the fund would make a few investments here and there but it would be limited and not an important part of Temasek or the Oppenheimer’s investment strategies.

That has changed today. Anglo America has brought Oppenheimer’s 40% stake in De Beers, the mining giant. Oppenheimer will net $5.1 billion from the sale. The family has announced that they will “invest the bulk of the proceeds” in the newly created JV.

While there’s no exact amount yet, this increase capitalization might just make this fund end up being the largest PE fund investing in Africa. The family has said the bulk of the proceeds from the sale will go into the fund. Considering they just made $5.1 billion, a bulk could mean anywhere from $2.5 billion to $5 billion, which is a far cry from the puny $300 million that the venture was originally capitalized with.

I’m unsure if an increase investment will lead to a greater ownership stake in the fund by the Oppenheimer. This could lead to Temasek ponying up more money to keep their ownership stake equal. Even if the ownership levels remain the same, Temasek will probably end up providing additional technical knowledge when it comes to PE deals. Oppenheimer provides the cash, Temasek uses their expertise and make the deal.

I think it’s quite reasonable to say that Temasek is the SWF with the most emerging market experience. But for Temasek, emerging markets has always meant close to home with India, China, and Indonesia making up the bulk of their investments. Compared to Asia, and most recently in Latin America, Africa has seen little attention from Temasek. In their latest annual report, Temasek reported that its investments in Latin America, Africa, Central Asia & the Middle East made up 3% of its portfolio. I’m guesstimating that Africa probably makes up less than .5%. Only investment I know is another private equity fund.

I’m excited about the possibilities of the fund. It will certainly be interesting to see their deals, which. as the Bloomberg article noted, should start happening with the next 8 weeks.