Actis Capital Buys Power Assets in Cameroon from AES for $220 Million

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following the signing of an agreement with AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) (Arlington, Virginia), international private equity company Actis Capital LLP will acquire the U.S. energy company's stake in its Cameroon power assets for $220 million. Actis will take a 56% stake in the West African country's national power utility Societe Nationale d'Electricite (Sonel), as well as significant stakes in two independent power plants at Kribi and Dibamba.

Sonel will come under the direct management of Actis. The utility provides 933 megawatts (MW) to more than 800,000 customers countrywide. Kribi and Dibamba, which have a combined capacity of 300 MW, will be overseen by Globeleq (London, England), a wholly owned subsidiary of Actis.

The transaction's close is waiting on government and lender approval. "Our experience managing major electricity assets in Uganda and Guatemala means that Actis come to the investment with the confidence that we can deliver strong infrastructure and excellent customer service," said the company's energy head Torbjorn Caesar. "We have deployed over $1 billion in the energy space in the last decade. This latest investment is natural next step for us in Africa."

For related information, see November 15, 2013, article - Cameroon's Hydropower Feed to Double Rio Tinto Alcan's Aluminum Smelter Production.

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