By Emele Onu
Tak Agro Plc, a Nigerian agribusiness, plans to issue a 35 billion naira bond ($97 million) to invest in storage and transportation facilities as part of a two-year, 50 billion naira funding program.
The debt will be issued in tranches from next year through 2021, Chairman Thomas Etuh said in emailed response to questions. “The tenor will be decided later,” he said. The company raised 15 billion naira last month after issuing a bond that matures in 2026 with a 16.5% coupon.
Investors are expanding into commodities in Africa’s most populous nation amid a push by the government to diversify the economy away from crude by encouraging investments in agriculture and minerals.
Tak Agro is looking to buy silos to store more than 261,000 metric tons of commodities and warehouses with a total capacity of 150,000 tons, Etuh said. The firm also wants to buy 1,000 trucks to transport fertilizer and agricultural produce across the West African nation.