Private equity investment company Actis has signed an agreement with American energy giant AES to acquire a majority interest in three power assets in Cameroon for US$220mn
The transaction, which is pending government and lender approval, will give the company a 56 per cent stake in Cameroon’s national integrated utility, Société Nationale d’Electricité (SONEL), and in two independent power plants, Kribi and Dibamba, said Actis.
Torbjorn Caesar, head of energy at Actis, commented, “Cameroon is a nation with great prospects. Our experience managing major electricity assets in Uganda and Guatemala means Actis comes to the investment with the confidence that we can deliver strong infrastructure and excellent customer service. We have deployed over US$1bn in the energy space in the last decade; this latest investment is a natural next step for us in Africa.”
According to Actis, SONEL provides 933MW of generation and supplies electricity to more than 800,000 customers throughout the country, while Kribi and Dibamba contribute a combined 300MW towards Cameroon’s generation capacity.
While Actis will manage SONEL directly, Globeleq, Actis’ wholly owned private power company, will manage and operate Kribi and Dibamba, the company said.
Elsewhere in africa, Actis has owned Umeme, Uganda’s national grid, since 2005.
