SA firm’s bid to buy power producer collapses

A bid by the owners of IberAfrica, Kenya’s largest thermal power producer, to sell the company to a South African energy firm has collapsed.

This was after the buyer failed to secure the sale.

AEP Energy Africa had last year June said it had signed a sale and purchase agreement with the shareholders of IberAfrica in a deal that would see it fork out Sh6.2 billion ($61.5 million) for the Kenyan power producer. 

It now says it has not been able to meet the timelines given by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to conclude the deal despite having secured all approvals, including from Kenyan regulators.

“Shareholders are advised that the JSE has informed the company that the initial period within which to conclude the viable acquisition has formally ended with effect from the close of business on October 29, 2019,” said AEP Energy in a circular to shareholders. IberAfrica owns and operates a 103.57 diesel-fired power plant in Nairobi.

According to disclosures made when AEP Energy announced that it was buying the company, the power producer reported a revenue of Sh6 billion in the year to December 2017 while its net profit was Sh580 million.

The deal had been dogged by delays from AEP Energy, with the owners of IberAfrica getting impatient and even issuing a notice to the firm in March this year that it was terminating the agreement.

What followed was a back-and-forth between the two firms and in August, IberAfrica agreed to reinstate the sale agreement.

AEP Energy further said it was able to secure the Sh6.2 billion from South African and international investors that it needed to complete the transaction. It, however, said it had not succeeded in securing a re-instatement of the agreement by October 30.

IberAfrica owns and operates a 103.57 diesel-fired power plant in Nairobi.

According to disclosures made when AEP Energy announced that it was buying the company, the power producer reported a revenue of Sh6 billion in the year to December 2017, while its net profit was Sh580 million.