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Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Old Mutual makes a bid for Lekela as Actis plots exit

Pan-African financial services outfit Old Mutual is bidding for Actis’ 60% stake in Lekela Power through its African Infrastructure Investment Managers unit, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The unit has tapped Goldman Sachs to advise on the offer, while Citigroup is advising Actis as it looks to exit the renewable energy firm it helped found in 2015. Unnamed Chinese and Middle Eastern investors are also interested in buying Actis’ stake in Lekela, as is the firm’s other investor, Mainstream Renewable Power, the sources told Bloomberg.

Lekela has a presence in Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, and Senegal and has been valued at more than USD 2 bn. The renewables company inaugurated its USD 350 mn, 250 MW wind farm in West Bakr last November, and said in 2020 that it would funnel most of its investments to Egypt in “the coming period.”

Other things we’re keeping an eye on this morning:

  • Fawry Microfinance has disbursed loans worth more than EGP 1 bn since its launch in 2018, according to a press release (pdf). The company’s loan portfolio grew 67% y-o-y in 2021 to reach EGP 437 mn, with a 98.5% collection rate by the end of the year, the release says.
  • Three companies land four bunkering services licenses: The Oil Ministry has awarded Coral Energy, Minerva Bunkering, and Peninsula four bunkering services licenses — two on the Red Sea and two on the Mediterranean — following a tender, Reuters quotes Oil Minister Tarek El Molla as saying.
  • More moves to localize industry: The Trade Ministry has prepared a list of 131 products for which it aims to provide local alternatives. Imports of the products were worth a total USD 14 bn in 2019.

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