South Africa’s insurance and financial services giant, Old Mutual has bought a slice of Nigeria’s gas infrastructure with its acquisition of stakes from the takeover of Seven Energy by Savannah Petroleum. The transaction which saw Seven Energy acquired by Savannah Petroleum, the British independent oil & gas company after a court ruling last week ordered transfer of Seven Energy’s assets to group of companies controlled by Savannah and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).
As part of the transaction, African Infrastructure Investment Managers acquired 20% interests in Seven Uquo Gas Limited and Accugas in return for cash consideration to Savannah of US$54m which has now been received. With the conclusion of the takeover of Seven Assets, Old Mutual now owns a piece of a grid length, natural gas pipeline in Nigeria because African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) is a member of the Alternative Investments unit of the Old Mutual Group, the South African insurance company.
As part of the Transaction completion, AIIM acquired 20% interests in Seven Uquo Gas Limited (SUGL) which in turn holds a 40% participating interest in the Uquo field located in South East Nigeria and Accugas, a midstream business, comprising the 200MMscf/d Uquo gas processing facility, and a 260kilometre gas pipeline network.
Following completion of the Transaction, Savannah now owns the Seven Assets, which comprise an 80% interest in Seven Uquo Gas Limited which in turn holds a 40% participating interest in the Uquo field located in South East Nigeria with SUGL assuming responsibility for all operations of the gas project at the Uquo field following the occurrence of the Frontier Transaction. Also the transaction gives a 51% interest in the Stubb Creek field located in South East Nigeria through 100% ownership of Universal Energy Resources Limited; and 80% interest in the Accugas midstream business, comprising the 200 mmscfd Uquo gas processing facility, a c.260km pipeline network and long-term gas sales agreements with downstream customers.
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The Old Mutual Alternative Investments is one of the largest private alternative investment managers in Africa, with over $4.2Billion under management in infrastructure assets, private equity and impact funding, according to its website. Its investment approach, it avers, goes “Beyond the Obvious” and “enables us to uncover opportunities others may overlook”.
AIIM says it has committed over $1.8Billion in equity investments over the last 19 years. It says its experience spans a range of infrastructure asset classes including toll roads, renewable energy, power generation, ports and communication infrastructure assets. The company has established local offices in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire and its website says it is currently managing investments with operations spanning 17 countries across East, West and Southern Africa.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.