Two major investors in infrastructure projects in Africa – Harith General Partners and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) – are merging assets in five countries into a joint venture that is set to become a major power player on the continent.
The new vehicle‚ which plans to seek a stock exchange listing in three to five years‚ will initially hold exposure to projects with a total capital value of about $3.3-billion (R48-billion). This represents 1575Mw of capacity in operation and under construction‚ reaching about 30 million people in western and eastern Africa and in SA.
“If our portfolio was an African country‚ it would be the seventh-largest power market on the continent‚” AFC president and chief executive Andrew Alli said.
Harith chief executive, Tshepo Mahloele, said the combined portfolio of power assets was larger than any other power company in Africa. Alli said it was impossible to put a value on the joint venture itself as it was still subject to regulatory approvals and the partners also intended to inject some cash into it. It has not yet been named. AFC is contributing its equity stakes in Cenpower‚ which owns the Kpone project under construction in Ghana and Cabelioca‚ a Cape Verde wind farm.
Harith is contributing‚ from its Pan Africa Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) – a Private Equity Fund investing in infrastructure projects across the continent – its stakes in the Azura Edo independent power project in Nigeria; the Lake Turkana wind farm in Kenya; Kelvin power station in SA; and the Rabai thermal project in Kenya. Mahloele said the objective was to create an entity with the expertise‚ critical mass and balance sheet strength to invest rapidly in power opportunities emerging in Africa. These included power generation from clean coal or renewables or infrastructure‚ such as fuel storage‚ transmission or floating gas terminals.
The joint venture would seek assets diversified both by country and technology. Alli said it was unlikely the fund would invest in nuclear projects given the size and political issues associated with nuclear power.
Mahloele said critical mass and diversity were important as power projects were long term and required significant upfront capital investment.
The venture would seek new investors over time‚ including those who could bring in projects.
Harith‚ which has offices in Johannesburg and Ivory Coast‚ manages the $630-million (R9.1-billion) PAIDF 1.
It recently announced first close of the $435-million (R6.3-billion) PAIDF 2.
The AFC is 47.6% owned by various African financial institutions‚ 42.5% by the Central Bank of Nigeria and 9.8% by various industrial and corporate shareholders.
It was capitalised with $1.26-billion (R18.1-billion) in 2007 with the mandate to provide project structuring expertise and risk capital for infrastructure projects. — BDLive
Assets merger sparks new power player
The new vehicle‚ which plans to seek a stock exchange listing in three to five years‚ will initially hold exposure to projects with a total capital value of about $3.3-billion (R48-billion). This represents 1575Mw of capacity in operation and under construction‚ reaching about 30 million people in western and eastern Africa and in SA.
“If our portfolio was an African country‚ it would be the seventh-largest power market on the continent‚” AFC president and chief executive Andrew Alli said.
Harith chief executive, Tshepo Mahloele, said the combined portfolio of power assets was larger than any other power company in Africa. Alli said it was impossible to put a value on the joint venture itself as it was still subject to regulatory approvals and the partners also intended to inject some cash into it. It has not yet been named. AFC is contributing its equity stakes in Cenpower‚ which owns the Kpone project under construction in Ghana and Cabelioca‚ a Cape Verde wind farm.
Harith is contributing‚ from its Pan Africa Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF) – a Private Equity Fund investing in infrastructure projects across the continent – its stakes in the Azura Edo independent power project in Nigeria; the Lake Turkana wind farm in Kenya; Kelvin power station in SA; and the Rabai thermal project in Kenya. Mahloele said the objective was to create an entity with the expertise‚ critical mass and balance sheet strength to invest rapidly in power opportunities emerging in Africa. These included power generation from clean coal or renewables or infrastructure‚ such as fuel storage‚ transmission or floating gas terminals.
The joint venture would seek assets diversified both by country and technology. Alli said it was unlikely the fund would invest in nuclear projects given the size and political issues associated with nuclear power.
Mahloele said critical mass and diversity were important as power projects were long term and required significant upfront capital investment.
The venture would seek new investors over time‚ including those who could bring in projects.
Harith‚ which has offices in Johannesburg and Ivory Coast‚ manages the $630-million (R9.1-billion) PAIDF 1.
It recently announced first close of the $435-million (R6.3-billion) PAIDF 2.
The AFC is 47.6% owned by various African financial institutions‚ 42.5% by the Central Bank of Nigeria and 9.8% by various industrial and corporate shareholders.
It was capitalised with $1.26-billion (R18.1-billion) in 2007 with the mandate to provide project structuring expertise and risk capital for infrastructure projects. — BDLive
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos