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Tag: DealMakers AFRICA

  • DealMakers AFRICA recognises top mergers, acquisitions, dealmakers in West Africa

    DealMakers AFRICA recognises top mergers, acquisitions, dealmakers in West Africa

    West Africa’s most significant mergers and acquisitions, along with the financial and legal advisers behind them, have been recognised in the recently released 2024 DealMakers AFRICA Annual Awards. 

    The awards highlight transactions that have shaped the region’s corporate landscape, acknowledging the firms and individuals driving complex deals across industries.

    The DealMakers AFRICA awards are determined primarily by objective criteria, assessing the value and number of transactions recorded. 

    However, three categories—Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year, and Individual DealMaker of the Year—are selected based on nominations from advisory firms. 

    These are evaluated based on factors such as deal complexity, transformational impact, and potential value creation.

    In the West Africa Deal of the Year category, four major transactions were shortlisted. 

    These include Olam Agri’s acquisition of Avisen, Chappal Energies’ purchase of Equinor’s Nigerian business, Renaissance Africa Energy’s acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria and the acquisition of Flour Mills by Excelsior Shipping. 

    The winning deal in this category was the acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company by Renaissance Africa Energy, a transaction that aligns with Nigeria’s broader objective of increasing local participation in the energy sector. 

    The deal saw ownership of critical onshore assets consolidated under a consortium of Nigerian companies, reinforcing local players’ roles in the industry. PwC Nigeria, Banwo & Ighodalo, Clifford Chance, White & Case, and G. Elias served as advisers on the transaction.

    For the Private Equity Deal of the Year, three deals were in contention, including CardinalStone Partners’ exit from i-Fitness to Verod, Verod and its partners’ investment in Moniepoint, and Adenia Partners’ sale of Cresta Paints to Uhuru Investment Partners. 

    The award was given to CardinalStone Partners for its exit from i-Fitness to Verod, a deal expected to drive i-Fitness’ next growth phase through Verod’s operational expertise and financial backing. The transaction was facilitated by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, CardinalStone Capital Partners, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, and Olaniwun Ajayi.

    The Individual DealMaker of the Year award, sponsored for the second consecutive year by PSG Capital, recognised five shortlisted professionals: Akinola Akinboboye of Deloitte, Ayotunde Owoigbe of Banwo & Ighodalo, Azeezah Muse-Sadiq of Banwo & Ighodalo, Daniel Adeoye of Verod, and Yewande Senbore of Olaniwun Ajayi. The award went to Daniel Adeoye, a partner at Verod, for his role in executing high-value transactions in the region.

    Adenia Partners’ acquisition of Air Liquide subsidiaries across Africa was recognised with the DealMakers AFRICA Special Recognition award. The deal spanned 12 countries across three regions, with Adenia committing up to €30 million over the next five years to strengthen and expand the newly formed entity, Erium. The transaction was advised by Decrop Consulting, Asafo & Co, Fidal Avocats, Deloitte, DPGS & Alliance Partners, and ClassM.

    The awards also acknowledged the top-performing financial and legal advisory firms in West Africa’s mergers and acquisitions landscape. PwC emerged as the leading financial adviser by deal value, followed by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, Citigroup Global Markets, and Treadstone Resource Partners. Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria and Stanbic IBTC Capital shared the top spot for financial advisory by deal activity.

    Banwo & Ighodalo was named the top legal adviser by deal value, ahead of Clifford Chance, G. Elias, and White & Case. In terms of deal flow, Banwo & Ighodalo secured the top position, followed by Olaniwun Ajayi and Herbert Smith Freehills.

    For equity transactions, Stanbic IBTC Capital was ranked the top financial adviser by transaction value, while Templars led as the top legal adviser in the same category. In debt transactions, Afreximbank ranked highest by value, while Olaniwun Ajayi led in legal advisory.

    DealMakers AFRICA, which launched its awards in 2000 in South Africa and expanded to the rest of the continent in 2008, continues to highlight key transactions that shape African economies. The latest rankings reflect the growing sophistication of West Africa’s mergers and acquisitions landscape, as local and international firms navigate complex deals that are reshaping industries across the region.

  • DealMakers AFRICA unveils annual awardees

    DealMakers AFRICA unveils annual awardees

    East Africa’s notable company mergers and acquisitions and their advisers have been recognised at the DealMakers AFRICA Annual Gala Awards held in Lagos.

    The awards ceremony, held at EbonyLife Place, also tracked the work carried out by the advisers in the mergers and acquisition and general corporate finance space during 2023.

    The DealMakers AFRICA awards are based essentially on objective evidence – the value of deals or transactions and the number of them. In only one of the three of the awards is selection subjective and these are approached with considerable circumspection; they are the Deal of the Year, the Private Equity Deal of the Year and the Individual DealMaker of the Year. Nominations are received from the advisory firms for these subjective awards – the DealMakers AFRICA’s team produces a shortlist, and an eventual winner is decided on guided by the following criteria: Transformational elements, execution complexity, deal size and potential value creation. For the Individual DealMaker the deals worked on, the contribution made, the execution complexity and peer recognition are considered.

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    In the East Africa Deal of the Year category, DealMakers AFRICA shortlisted three deals. These were: The East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Joint Venture, the disposal of James Finlay Kenya to Browns Investments and the disposal by Bamburi Cement and Cementia of Hima Cement (Uganda).

    The acquisition by Browns Investments of James Finlay Kenya was named Deal of the Year. The deal will support the next growth phase of the company while at the same time benefiting the local community and contributing to the overall Kenyan economy. The advisory firms to the deal were Bowmans and Addleshaw Goddard.

    In the category of Private Equity Deal of the Year (East Africa), DealMakers AFRICA shortlisted three deals. These were: The exit by Maris and Nvision of a majority stake in Equator Energy to IBL Energy and STOA, the exit by Finnfund of its stake in Lake Turkana Wind Power to BlackRock and Ascent Capital Africa’s exit of its stake in Guardian Health.

    The winner of the East Africa Private Equity Deal of the Year was Ascent Capital Africa’s exit of its Stake in Guardian Health. During its six-year investment Guardian Health has scaled from a footprint of five stores to a chain of 19 stores in six districts. Its new shareholder will boost its largely underdeveloped online and telemedicine service. Advisers to the winning transaction were I&M Burbidge Capital, Clyde & Co and Bowmans.

    The following awards were made on the night to the top financial and legal advisers to the East African mergers and acquisition industry: Mergers & Acquisitions, Financial Adviser by deal value with  Deloitte & Touche emerging tops for Financial Advisory Services, Canaccord Genuity Corp, CIBC Capital Markets coming second place while the award for Financial Adviser by deal activity went to PwC followed by Standard Chartered Bank, Horizon Africa Capital and Verdant Capital which earned the second best.

    In the Legal Adviser by deal value, Anjarwalla & Khanna bested Bowmans and Berhane Gila-Michael & Associates, Kebreab Habte Michael, which earned the second and third place respectively.