Investment consortia proceed to financial bid opening for Afam, YEDC

Diamond Stripes Consortium, Transcorp Power Consortium, and Unicorn Consortium are now to proceed to the financial bids opening stage for the acquisition of 100 per cent shares in the Afam Electricity Generation Company (Afam Power Plc & Afam Three Fast Power Limited).

This followed approval by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), after its first meeting for 2019, held last Friday, at the Presidential Villa, Aso Rock, Abuja, in which Council noted that the consortia met the benchmark score of 750 points after evaluation in accordance with the criteria set out in the Requests for Proposal (RfPs). 

Recall that the privatisation of Afam Genco could not be concluded during the first round of the power privatisation in 2013, due to issues related to gas supply to the plant.Following the termination of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) signed between Taleveras (the then Preferred Bidder), and BPE in 2016, the Council at its meeting in August 2017, approved the privatisation of the enterprise based on a strategy to be recommended by the Transaction Advisers.  

The Council equally approved that Quest Electric Nigeria Limited, proceeds to the financial bids opening stage for the re-privatisation of the Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC). Although YEDC was successfully privatised and handed over to the core investor in 2013, but a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the core investor, citing insecurity in the North-East region of the country. Consequently, the DisCo was duly repossessed by the Federal Government. 

under the terms, it is expected that the successful bidders will be responsible for operating the GenCo and DisCo, making the necessary investments to improve the generation and distribution networks, and improving customer service in line with the Federal Government’s objectives under the National Electric Power Policy (NEPP). 

Other decisions taken by NCP at the close of the meeting included the appointment of Lead Capital Consortium as Financial Adviser for the restructuring, recapitalisation and partial privatisation of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), while also delisting Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, from post-privatisation monitoring by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

It further agreed on the privatisation of the Nigeria Communication Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), through a strategic core investor sale, and commencement of the process of listing it in the schedule of the Public Enterprises (Privatisation& Commercialisation) Act 1999.There was also the appointment of Vesta Healthcare Partners as consultant, to carry out a diagnostic review of the Nigerian health sector.