ANNAPOLIS, Maryland,
Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- American Capital Energy & Infrastructure ("ACEI") announced today that it has committed to invest up to
$130 million in Azura Power Holdings Ltd. ("Azura"), the company responsible for developing the Azura-Edo power project in Edo State,
Nigeria. With a goal of becoming the leading power development company in
West Africa,
Azura will utilize ACEI's investment to fund the first and second
phases of the Azura-Edo power project, pursue its greenfield development
pipeline and future acquisitions, expand its team, and grow its
construction and operational capabilities.
The Azura-Edo power project is a proposed 450MW open cycle gas turbine power station being developed near
Benin
City in Edo State and represents the first phase of a 1,000MW power
plant facility. Azura and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc
signed a groundbreaking power purchase agreement on
April 22, 2013,
which is being used as a template for other project-financed
independent power producers in the country. The transaction was
showcased by President
Goodluck Jonathan
as critical to the Nigerian power sector reform process. The first
phase of the plant, which is targeted to reach financial close in early
2014 and come on stream in 2016/2017, is forecast to create over 1,000
direct jobs during its construction and operation. The project is
expected to have a positive impact on the industrial and social
wellbeing of the area, leading to further economic development and job
creation.
Mr.
Paul Hanrahan, CEO and co-founder
of ACEI, said: "We are extremely pleased to announce our investment in
Azura, a good example of the type of investment in high growth platforms
in the energy infrastructure space that we are targeting. Our
investment is in recognition of the significant progress made by the
Azura co-founders on the first phase of the Azura-Edo power project, the
growth opportunities in the Nigerian and West African markets, and our
confidence in the Federal Government of
Nigeria's power sector reform program."
In
June 2013, ACEI joined Power Africa,
a United States Government initiative launched by President Obama that
is focused on supporting economic growth and development in
Africa by increasing clean and reliable access to electrical power. The United States Government along with the governments of
Ethiopia,
Ghana,
Kenya,
Liberia,
Nigeria and
Tanzania,
and private sector partners have coordinated to accelerate and spur
investments in the continent. As a partner in the presidential
initiative, ACEI is actively pursuing investments in African power
companies to originate, develop, finance and operate regional energy
infrastructure assets in
West Africa,
East Africa and
Southern Africa, which, over the next four years, could reach
$800 million in total investment.
"In line with our Power Africa efforts, ACEI is investing in the
leading independent power producer platform in this key African market,"
said
Lisa Pinsley, ACEI Director of Africa Investments. "
Nigeria is the most populous country in
Africa
with one of the highest growth rates in the world. With a current
population of over 170 million, the seventh largest in the world,
Nigeria's expanding economy suffers from a lack of power infrastructure. The United Nations estimates that
Nigeria's
population will reach 230 million within the next 20 years, and the
total grid-based power generation capacity must rise tenfold to 40,000MW
to meet the demand. Azura is, and will continue to be, a key driver in
this growth in capacity."
Mr.
Sundeep Bahanda, co-founder of Amaya Capital Partners, the lead sponsors of Azura, and Dr.
David Ladipo,
Managing Director of Azura said in a joint statement: "ACEI's
investment will exert a transformative impact on our business and
accelerate Azura's drive to create a flagship, multi-asset, power
generation company. The development of
Nigeria's
electricity supply industry is a vast undertaking that requires a long
term commitment from all parties. Together with ACEI, the Federal
Government of
Nigeria, state
governments and our partners and advisers, we are committed to the
creation of an indigenous world class business that will provide
electricity to the people of
Nigeria and, in so doing, will boost the country's industrial growth, its job creation and its social welfare."
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure invests in global energy
infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power
distribution and transmission networks, energy transportation assets,
fuel production opportunities and product and service companies focused
on the power and energy sectors. ACEI is part of American Capital,
Ltd.'s (Nasdaq: ACAS) ("American Capital") asset management affiliate,
American Capital Asset Management, LLC. For further information, please
refer to
http://www.ACEI.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital is a publicly traded private equity firm and global
asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset
management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in
middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy and
infrastructure and structured products. American Capital manages
$20 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with
$117 billion
of total assets under management (including levered assets). Through
an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital
Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC) with approximately
$10 billion of net book value and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: MTGE) with approximately
$1 billion of net book value. From its eight offices in the U.S. and
Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from
$10 million to $750 million. For further information, please refer to
http://www.americancapital.com.
ABOUT AZURA POWER HOLDINGS LTD.
Founded by Amaya Capital Partners, Azura is a world-class power
development company that was created to focus on the development,
construction, acquisition and operation of power generation facilities
in
Nigeria and over time,
West Africa.
Azura utilizes its project development and financing skills, in
addition to the capital and expertise of Amaya and its partners, to
develop and acquire large scale gas-fired Independent Power Plants in
Nigeria. For further information, please refer to
http://www.azurawa.com.
ABOUT AMAYA CAPITAL PARTNERS
Amaya, established in 2009, is a principal investment firm focused on energy related projects in
West Africa.
Unlike a typical private equity fund, Amaya does not manage third
party funds but rather invests as a principal from an early development
stage in a pro-active manner using the capital, capabilities, and
resources of its founders and associates. Amaya has interests in the
gas and power sectors in
Nigeria. For further information, please refer to
http://www.amayacap.com.
Contact: +1-443-214-7070
Paul Hanrahan, Chief Executive Officer
Richard Santoroski, Managing Director
Rajeev Garside, Vice President
Lisa Pinsley, Director, Africa Investments
SOURCE American Capital Energy & Infrastructure
