The largest private sector gas distributor in Nigeria, Axxela gets new shareholder following Helios Investment Partners, the Africa-focused private investment firm, sale of its 25 percent interest in Axxela to Sojitz Corporation, one of the leading conglomerate investment and trading houses listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while retaining a 75 percent interest in the company.
Cleaner, Cheaper ad more Reliable energy
Axxela is a pioneering energy infrastructure company at the forefront of delivering cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy to industrial customers across West Africa. Its operations support the utilisation of Nigeria’s vast domestic gas resource to drive industrial growth while also facilitating fuel switching by industries to gas, reducing CO2, Nitric Oxide and Sulfur Oxide emissions, which enables the transition to a lower carbon economy. Axxela enabled its customers to reduce their CO2 emissions by 1.7 million tonnes between 2018 and 2020 by switching their energy supply from diesel or Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) to gas and is working to expand such contribution to reduce CO2 emissions through the growth of its business.
In the last quarter of 2021, Axxela signed Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Commissioning (EPCC) contract for its mini-LNG plant in Ajaokuta, Kogi State.
The parties to the contract are Transit Gas Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Axxela Limited Nigeria; Nigeria Gas Marketing Company (NGMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); and Phoenix Development Limited.
You can also read: Axxela Unveils $30Mn Greater Lagos IV Gas Pipeline Network, Elegbata Sports Complex
Bolaji Osunsanya
Speaking on the Sojitz’s acquisition of Helios interest in the company, the Chief Executive Officer of Axxela, Bolaji Osunsanya, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sojitz to the Axxela family. This represents another first for us as an organisation, and a huge testament of continued investor confidence in our business. It also further affirms our position not only as a market leader, but as a reputable partner enabling industrialisation across Africa. With Sojitz onboard, our capacity is stronger, and we are better situated to attract the requisite capital to continue executing our development-oriented projects.’’
Axxela Gets New Shareholder
Partner at Helios Investment Partners, Ogbemi Ofuya said: “We feel privileged to enter into this partnership with Sojitz to drive further growth of Axxela’s business. This transaction demonstrates the value of our strategy to build market-leading, strategically important businesses which become highly sought-after by global investors seeking to enter Africa or grow their presence on the continent. Sojitz is a world-class energy infrastructure investor and their investment represents the first Japanese strategic investment in a downstream gas distribution business in Africa. We look forward to working together to accelerate energy access for industrial growth and decarbonisation across Africa.”
On his part, the Chief Operating Officer of Infrastructure & Healthcare Division at Sojitz Corporation, Masakazu Hashimoto said: “We are pleased to announce this strategic investment into the Axxela Group, which opens the door for our entry to a gas downstream market in Africa where huge growth potential is expected. Africa is the largest frontier in the 21st century. This transaction embodies our “market-oriented initiative” and “co-creation and sharing methodologies” and begins a partnership between the internationally reputable fund Helios and Sojitz. We expect that this collaboration will create additional value to Axxela and their stakeholders by way of a disciplined investment while ESG issues are fully addressed.”
Axxela Group
Axxela Group began operations in 2001 and currently serves over 200 industrial customers across key industrial hubs in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Sagamu providing a comprehensive energy offering across pipeline gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). It also supplies gas to power utilities and industries across the West Africa region, taking advantage of its status as a designated shipper on the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), a regional gas pipeline spanning across Benin, Togo and Ghana.
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