Economy

Africa Records M&A Deals Worth $21bn in H1 2019

Published

7 years ago

02/08/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The value of total mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals in Africa achieved in the first half of 2019 increased by 32 percent to $21 billion from $16 billion recorded in the same period of 2018, a report by Baker McKenzie has revealed.

In a statement made available to Business Post on Friday, it was however, said that the deal volumes experienced a decrease of 10 percent to 365 in H1 2019 from 405 in H1 2018.

In the analysis by Baker McKenzie of Refinitiv M&A data for Africa, cross-border deal values remained largely the same, with only a one-percent increase half year-on-half year.

It was stated further that in H1 2018, deal value for cross border deals was $13.7 billion, rising to $13.8 billion in H1 2019, while the real jump in deal values came from domestic activity, which recorded a substantial rise of 276 percent in deal values from $1.8 billion in H1 2018 to $6.7 billion in H1 2019.

Deals are considered domestic when the target company is in the same country as the acquirer parent company.

“While market sentiment regarding large transactions in Africa tends to focus on the risks of transacting in the region, mainly due to the large-scale political and economic uncertainty on the continent, the data could be beginning to tell a different story, showing a trend towards an increase in high value M&A transactions in the region, but at a lower volume,” says Morne van der Merwe, Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg.

“Investors in Africa have had to consider extensive geo-political and economic uncertainty on the continent as well as a plethora of country and region-specific governance, compliance and regulatory challenges when investing in the region.

“Those transacting on the continent have also had to contend with a critical lack of infrastructure and poor integration when transacting across borders in Africa. Yet despite this, the data shows that the value of investment on the continent is growing. This could be an indication of the investment potential in Africa for investors who are willing to manage the risks.

“The rise in domestic M&A value in 2019 points to domestic investors in Africa appearing more comfortable to engage in high value transactions and manage the risks of investing in environments that are generally known to be politically and economically uncertain, but that are familiar to them,” he says.

“Additional good news for investors in Africa is the recent launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which should provide an additional boost deal activity in the coming years. The AfCFTA is the first continent-wide African trade agreement, with the potential to facilitate and harmonise trade and infrastructure development in Africa,” he notes.

“The key to boosting this investment potential, and enabling African economies to make the most of their opportunities – is developing its infrastructure.

“An important part of this is the creation of cohesive regional economic hubs by developing infrastructure that links countries together. This will increase the ease of cross-border transactions and grow investment across African regions organically,” adds van der Merwe.

Economy

Shareholders Approve Fresh N30bn Capital Raise for Neimeth

Published

54 minutes ago

30/06/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The board of Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc can raise an additional N30 billion from the capital market, shareholders have declared.

They gave the authorisation for this fresh capital raise at the company’s 67th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held virtually on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

This was one of the resolutions passed at the yearly shareholders’ gathering, attended by several persons, including board and management members as well as investors and others.

The approval for new capital raise is coming after the board was, on June 23, 2025, authorised to raise up to N20.0 billion. For this tranche, only N2.440 billion was raised by the organisation, leaving an untilised balance of approximately N17.560 billion.

The company has now been given the authority to get fresh N30.0 billion, according to disclosure from Neimeth.

In the notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Neimeth said the board was asked to “raise additional capital of up to N30.0 billion through an issuance of shares (to be issued, whether by way of public offering, rights issue, private/special placement to strategic or identified investors), commercial papers, bonds, convertible and non-convertible securities), medium term notes and/or any other instruments, either as a stand-alone or by way of programmes, in such tranches, series or proportions, at such coupon or interest rates, within such maturity periods, or on such terms and conditions, through a combination of methods or processes, all of which shall be based on terms and conditions to be determined by the board and subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.”

The shareholders resolved that “the aggregate shareholders’ approval for capital raising shall accordingly be N50.0 billion, of which approximately N2.440 billion has already been raised by way of rights issue, leaving an unutilised balance of approximately N47.560 billion available for raising.”

Economy

NASD OTC Sheds 0.36% as FrieslandCampina, Food Concepts Retreat

Published

2 hours ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc and Food Concepts Plc helped root the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange in negative territory, following a 0.36 per cent slide on Monday, June 29.

FrieslandCampina, which is the maker of milk brands Peak Milk and Three Crowns, lost N13.44 to trade at N141.76 per unit compared with its previous price of N155.2o per unit, while Food Concepts, which is the parent company of fast food giant Chicken Republic, declined by 8 Kobo to end at N2.43 per share versus last Friday’s price of N2.51 per share.

Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) slid by 15.51 points to 4,261.56 points from 4,277.07 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.31 billion to close at N2.557 trillion compared with the previous value of N2.567 trillion.

The bourse finished with two price advancers yesterday, with Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc up by N3.80 to trade at N88.48 per unit versus N84.68 per unit, and Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc gaining 31 Kobo to end at N21.40 per share versus N21.09 per share.

The volume of securities traded by investors on the first trading day of the week contracted by 75.9 per cent to 229,314 units from the previous 955,096 units, and the value of securities slumped 17.8 per cent to N24.6 million from N29.9 million, while the number of deals increased by 9.7 per cent to 34 deals from the 31 deals recorded last Friday.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.7 million units transacted for N4.7 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc followed with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,383 Per Dollar at NAFEX

Published

4 hours ago

30/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira crashed against the United States Dollar by N2.70 0r 0.2 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, June 29, to N1,383.63/$1 from last Friday’s exchange rate of N1,380.93/$1.

This was influenced by FX pressure on the domestic currency, which also weakened its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment during the session by N6.06 to N1,831.64/£1 from the previous value of N1,824.90/£1. It also depleted the Nigerian currency against the Euro by 45 Kobo, trading at N1,578.03/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,577.58/€1.

However, it maintained stability against the greenback at the parallel market and the GTBank forex desk yesterday at N1,395/$1 and N1,387/$1, respectively.

Despite the pressure on the Naira, it is still trading within the expected range, as a result of ongoing FX reforms, stronger market liquidity, and increased transparency in the FX market.

Unlike in previous years, the improved stability is reflected in the relatively narrow spread between the official exchange rate and rates in the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment, suggesting that reforms introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are helping to improve price discovery and reduce distortions.

Also, Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the apex bank with the capacity to support the Naira and meet the country’s external obligations, have continued to trend upward. Most recent data published on the apex bank’s website showed that reserves rose to $51.29 billion as of June 26, 2026.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin (BTC) lost momentum after it dropped below $60,000, remaining under its 200-week moving average as currency markets swung following the Japanese Yen slipping to four-decade lows against the US Dollar.

Strategy, the largest public holder of bitcoin, plans to sell more than $1 billion of BTC as part of a $1.25 billion monetisation program, a sharp break from Michael Saylor’s long-held “never sell” stance. BTC traded at $59,463.89.

Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.9 per cent to $0.0723, TRON (TRX) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $0.3196, Cardano (ADA) dipped 0.2 per cent to $0.1446, and Ripple (XRP) dropped 0.1 per cent to close at $1.04.

On the flip side, Solana (SOL) gained 2.5 per cent to sell at $73.99, Ethereum (ETH) improved by 0.4 per cent to $1,587.51, and Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.01 per cent to sell for $552.58, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.