Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola has sold his controlling stake in Geregu Power Plc in a deal valued at about US$750 million, marking one of the largest private power-sector divestments in the country’s history.
Geregu Power said in a filing to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) that MA’AM Energy Ltd has acquired a 95 percent stake in Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, the vehicle through which Otedola held an indirect 77 percent interest in Geregu Power.
The transaction transfers effective control of Geregu Power from Otedola and Calvados Global Services Limited to MA’AM Energy, an Abuja-based integrated energy company involved in electricity generation, trading and supply.
The company said the deal does not involve the direct sale or transfer of Geregu Power shares, meaning its public shareholding structure on the NGX remains unchanged, although the ultimate beneficial ownership has shifted.
Sources familiar with the matter said the transaction, which closed on Dec 29, was financed by a consortium of Nigerian banks led by Zenith Bank, with Blackbirch Capital acting as financial adviser.
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Geregu Power, one of Nigeria’s largest electricity generation companies, is valued at about 2.85 trillion naira (US$3.1 billion) and trades at 1,140 naira per share. It contributes roughly 10 percent of power supplied to the national grid.
Otedola, who has spent more than two decades in Nigeria’s energy sector, built Geregu Power into a major generation company, expanding capacity from 40 megawatts to 435 megawatts and delivering consistent profitability and dividends.
His exit from Geregu underscores a strategic shift toward financial services. Otedola is chairman of First HoldCo, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria, where he owns a 17.1 percent stake, the largest individual holding.
The divestment comes as Nigeria’s banking sector prepares for a new round of recapitalisation and consolidation, and as the government moves to stabilise the power sector through a multi-trillion-naira liquidity support programme.
Analysts say the sale also reflects a broader trend of early investors exiting assets acquired during Nigeria’s 2013 power privatisation, as improving valuations and liquidity open the door to capital recycling across the sector.
