Oando completes N70.5b downstream business recapitalisation

Oando Plc has completed the N70.5 billion recapitalisation of its downstream business with HV Investments II B.V., a joint venture owned by Helios Investment Partners, a premier Africa-focused private investment firm, and Vitol Group.

Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Adewale Tinubu, said that despite global economic headwinds, the company have taken the proactive approach to establish a strategic partnership, which will leverage Oando’s sector dominance, considerable local knowledge and expertise, together with HVI’s vast international, financial, and technical capabilities.

“This partnership will reinvigorate Nigeria’s downstream sector and create one of Africa’s largest downstream operations. We take great pride in our origins as a predominantly downstream company, and we are extremely confident in the success and potential returns this alliance will deliver,” he added.

The company said in a media statement yesterday that under the new business structure, all Oando retail stations would retain the Oando brand. “However, Oando Downstream will be renamed OVH Energy (OVH) to reflect its new ownership structure and the commitment of its new shareholders. OVH Energy will hold interests in Oando Marketing Limited, Oando Supply & Trading Limited, Apapa SPM Limited, and Oando Trippmart Limited. Oando Plc will retain a 49 percent shareholding in the newly formed corporate vehicle, with the HVI consortium also owning 49 percent. A residual 2 percent will be owned by a local entity”, it said.

Co-founder and Managing Partner of Helios Investment Partners, Tope Lawani noted his firm’s track record of creating successful businesses: “We look forward to leveraging Helios’ expertise in support of OVH’s management team, and to building another partnership with Vitol, with whom we created Vivo Energy, a leading pan-African downstream business.”

On his part, President and Chief Executive Officer, Vitol, Ian Taylor said: “This investment underlines our commitment to Nigeria. We are proud to have served our Nigerian customers for many years and we look forward to being actively involved in building this new company, alongside our existing ventures.”

Oando Downstream is comprised of Oando Marketing Plc, a petroleum product retailing and distribution company with over 350 retail outlets and strategically located terminals in Nigeria, Ghana and Togo; Oando Supply & Trading Limited, a leading indigenous physical trader of petroleum products in the sub-Saharan region, supplying and trading crude oil and refined petroleum products; Oando Trading Limited, an entity involved in the trading of crude oil and refined petroleum products in international markets; Apapa SPM Limited, a marina jetty and subsea pipeline system capable of berthing large vessels that will increase the delivery capacity and offloading efficiency of petroleum products into major petroleum marketers’ storage facilities at Apapa, Lagos; and Ebony Oil & Gas Limited, a Ghanaian supply and trading entity with a provisional bulk distribution company license supplying white products.