Desert & Delta Safaris has moved to deepen its footprint in Botswana’s luxury tourism market with the acquisition of a 50% stake in Mapula Lodge, a high-end Okavango Delta property owned by the Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund (BPOPF).
The transaction was executed through Desert & Delta Safaris’ parent company, Chobe Holdings Limited, which announced the deal as a small related-party transaction. The valuation, the company said, mirrors the price BPOPF originally paid a third-party seller and was settled on an arm’s-length basis. BPOPF retains the remaining 50%.
Mapula Lodge, located on the NG12 concession in the northern Okavango Delta, operates in the non-consumptive tourism sector, an area where Botswana’s pension funds have shown growing interest. The camp is currently shut for a full rebuild, making it a long-term play rather than an immediate earnings contributor. With the facility still under construction, Chobe Holdings said the acquisition will have no pro-forma effect on headline earnings for the current financial year.
The valuation, the company said, mirrors the price BPOPF originally paid a third-party seller and was settled on an arm’s-length basis. BPOPF retains the remaining 50%.
For Desert & Delta Safaris, the transaction is primarily about inventory. Additional available bed nights, the company noted, are becoming increasingly important in a market characterised by foreign-currency inflows, premium pricing, and seasonal pressure on capacity. Mapula’s eventual reopening is expected to lift the group’s ability to market and sell Delta-based experiences, its most lucrative segment.
Chobe Holdings expects a modest benefit to its balance sheet, projecting that the purchase will raise its net asset value by BWP 0.22 per share (net of non-controlling interests). Funding for the deal was drawn from an existing liquidity facility, suggesting that the acquisition is part of a longer strategic consolidation rather than a one-off opportunistic purchase.
The partnership also carries political and economic symbolism. With BPOPF holding a third of Chobe Holdings’ shares, the arrangement tightens the relationship between one of Botswana’s largest institutional investors and one of its most established ecotourism operators. The move dovetails with policymakers’ broader calls for “citizen participation” in the tourism economy, often a euphemism for ensuring that Botswana’s wealth funds retain a meaningful stake in the country’s most valuable natural assets.
There are no special conditions attached to the deal beyond the routine approvals required for concessions and tourism-related leases. Desert & Delta Safaris will hold an exclusive operating contract at Mapula once reconstruction is complete.
