Actis increases stake in West African power plant

Actis, a private equity investor focused solely on emerging markets, has confirmed that its portfolio company, Globeleq, has acquired a majority interest in the Azito gas-fired power plant near Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire.

According to an Actis press release, Globeleq develops, acquires, owns and operates power generation facilities in emerging markets.

Globeleq has held an interest in Azito since 2003 but this transaction represents a significant increase in Globeleq’s ownership of the plant through acquiring the shareholdings of EDF Group (‘EDF’) and ABB Equity Ventures (‘ABB’).

Globeleq is also leading a project to expand and convert the existing plant from a single-cycle power plant to a more efficient combined cycle power plant, increasing the capacity of the facility by 50% without the need for additional fuel and with no rise in CO2 emissions.

Commenting on the announcement, Torbjorn Caesar, co-head of infrastructure at Actis said, “The Azito facility supplies over one-third of the electricity to Cote d’Ivoire. Globeleq’s acquisition of a majority position in the plant enables it to implement its expansion strategy and service the needs of the rapidly growing African consumer population.”

The transaction price with EDF and ABB has not been disclosed.