African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) says it has disbursed a US$975 million financing facility to part-finance the management buyout of Oryx Energies SA (OESA), the holding company of Addax Energy SA.
The bank says the transaction brings the energy products and services group under majority African ownership for the first time. Afreximbank acted as sole lender, facility agent, security trustee and escrow agent.
Oryx Energies supplies, stores and distributes fuels, liquefied petroleum gas and lubricants and provides bunkering services across African markets. The financing relates to the management buyout of Oryx Energies SA’s trading and distribution business.
“This management buy-out marks an important milestone in the history of Oryx Energies and the continuation of a journey that our management team has been part of for many years,” said Moussa Diao, CEO of Oryx Energies SA.
“It also reflects the strength of experienced African leadership and its ability to guide established businesses towards new opportunities. It provides an opportunity to build on the strong foundations of the business, drawing on our longstanding experience and deep understanding of African energy markets. Our ambition remains to strengthen our activities in energy trading and infrastructure development across Africa.”
Diao said Afreximbank’s support reflected confidence in the management team and in opportunities across African energy markets.
“This transaction advances Afreximbank’s mandate to drive the structural transformation of African economies,” said George Elombi, president and chairman of the board of directors of Afreximbank.
“Through the management buy-out of Oryx Energies SA’s trading and distribution business, we have secured a strategic platform to deepen Africa’s energy industrial ecosystem, strengthen energy infrastructure and capture more value from the continent’s abundant natural resources.”
The bank said the financing forms part of its wider support for energy production, refining, infrastructure and trade across the continent.
Source: Afreximbank, distributed by APO Group.