By Chijioke Ohuocha
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!LAGOS, April 4 – Oando has sold its 25 percent stake in Nigerian gas and power company Axxela to majority investor Helios Investment partners for an undisclosed amount, Axxela said on Thursday.
The Soros-backed private equity firm now owns 100 percent of Axxela following Oando’s divestment, the gas company said.
Oando hived off its power and gas subsidiaries in 2015, selling a majority stake in the new business, Axxela, to Helios.
Axxela said it delivers up to around 80 million standard cubic feet (scuf) per day to over 160 industrial and commercial customers.
On Wednesday, Oando’s chief executive – Adewale Tinubu – said the Nigerian oil company aimed to raise fresh capital over the next two years and cut its long-term debt after it buying Conoco Phillips’ Nigerian assets for $1.5 billion in 2013.
Tinubu told Reuters he was confident with the capital raising initiatives and that over the next 24 months Oando would raise funds as plans were far advanced.
Shares in Lagos-listed Oando, which are down 86 percent from their peak of 33.47 naira in 2014, rose 3.1 percent on Thursday. (Editing by Alexis Akwagyiram and Kirsten Donovan)