Economy

Nigeria Records 28 Deals Worth $1bn in H1 2021

Published

5 years ago

23/07/2021

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A new report from Baker McKenzie has indicated that in the first half of 2021, Nigeria and South Africa recorded a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

However, Kenya, another key economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, witnessed a slight decline in the period under consideration, according to an analysis of Refinitiv data.

It was revealed that 28 deals worth $1 billion were recorded in Nigeria in H1 2021, indicating that by transaction volume, it rose by 17 per cent and by value, it soared by 267 per cent.

Refinitiv data reveals that domestic transactions decreased by 15 per cent to 11 deals, but deal value increased by 342 per cent year-on-year to $726 million.

Also, cross-border transactions increased by 13 per cent to 17 deals, with deal value rising by 8 per cent to $296 million, with financial companies being the prime targets for inbound deals at four transactions, showing a 100 per cent increase y-o-y and deal value of $10 million, a 327 per cent increase year on year.

Once again, the US served as the primary investor for Nigerian companies, with four deals worth $13 million. The largest inbound deal into Nigeria in H1 2021 was Mwendo Holdings BV’s (South Africa) $182 million acquisition of Blue Lake Ventures Ltd (Media and Entertainment), announced in June 2021.

In a statement obtained by Business Post, the Head of Africa for Baker McKenzie, Mr Wildu du Plessis, stated that while investors from the US have shown interest in Africa for some time, under President Joe Biden, the general consensus is that US engagement with African countries is focusing on strengthening relationships in a strategic, co-operative way.

It has been noted that Mr Biden will continue with successful bipartisan programmes implemented by his predecessors, as well as further encouraging US trade and investment in the continent.

Considering that American companies were the top investors in two of Africa’s largest economies in the first half of 2021, dealmakers are clearly comfortable with Biden’s approach to Africa.

South Africa

The value of M&A transactions in South Africa in H1 2021 amounted to $52 billion, with 169 deals announced in the period. Compared to the first half of 2020, transactions volumes decreased by 8 per cent but deal value increased by 958 per cent in the first half of 2021.

Refinitiv data showed that the volume of domestic transactions increased slightly to 80 deals, a 10 per cent increase y-o-y. Domestic transactions in South Africa in H1 21 were worth $46.7 billion, a dramatic 2,148 per cent increase. Further, cross-border transactions increased 17 per cent to 89 deals, with deal value surging 251 per cent to $5.4 billion.

According to Marc Yudaken, Partner in the Corporate/M&A Practice at Baker McKenzie in Johannesburg, “Despite the excellent start to 2021, the unrest in South Africa threatens to impact the positive strides made in terms of foreign investment into the country in the first six months of this year.

“For the sake of South Africa’s post-pandemic recovery, the turmoil engulfing our country has to be ended before investors are forced to seek less risky alternatives.

“Foreign investors will only ramp up their investments if they are confident their assets are safe. They need political and economic certainty and must have confidence that there is rule of law in the countries in which they invest.”

High technology companies were the primary targets for inbound deals in South Africa, with 12 transactions, representing 200 per cent in deal volume and a deal value of $160 million, an increase of 1,997 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

“It’s no secret that African consumers have shown a growing reliance on technology across multiple platforms, even well before the pandemic struck.

“The growth of the digital economy across the continent has naturally been accelerated by the pandemic and this unabated demand for technology has caused extensive cross-sector disruption, with the financial, energy, transport, retail, health and agricultural sectors all seeking opportunities to expand their tech infrastructure in order to acquire the necessary skills and innovation needed to keep up with demand.

“Fintech is also a popular tech sector for investment across Africa and specifically in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, with health-tech, mobility and agritech also attracting growing interest,” Mr du Plessis noted.

“It looks like South Africa is leading the way in terms of high-value deals in the tech sector and we expect this tech M&A trend to continue as the continent gears up to operate in the post-pandemic new normal,” he added.

The United States was the primary investor for South African companies, with 16 deals (an increase of 60 per cent) valued at $496 million (an increase of 340 per cent).

This was helped by TPG Capital LP’s $200 million acquisition of Airtel Africa Plc-Mobile (telecommunications) announced in March 2021. The largest inbound deal in H1 2021 was Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd’s (Singapore) $500 million acquisition of Leapfrog Investments (financials), also announced in March 2021.

Kenya

In H1 2021, deal-making in Kenya decreased by 14 per cent with 18 deals in the period and deal value decreased by 96 per cent to $11 million.

Financial companies were the prime targets for inbound deals with five transactions, representing a 150 per cent increase, with deals valued at $11 million, a 78 per cent decrease.

Nigeria served as the primary investor for Kenyan companies with three deals. The largest inbound deal into Kenya in H1 2021 was Liberty Holdings Ltd’s (South Africa) $8 million acquisition of Liberty Kenya Holdings Plc (insurance), announced in March 2021.

In its reaction to this, Mr Du Plessis said the decrease in M&A volume and value in Kenya in H1 2021 is expected to be temporary as the country continues to implement pandemic recovery policies, including a vaccine rollout strategy for the adult population with a planned completion date of mid-2022.

“The country’s reputation as an East African investment hub, in addition to its strong technology capabilities, means that it is just a matter of time before Kenya takes up its rightful place as one of the top target countries for technology transactions in Africa,” he submitted.

Economy

OTC Securities Exchange Falls 2.48%

Published

1 day ago

20/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was down by 2.48 per cent on Friday, June 19, with the Unlisted Security Index shedding 108.36 points to close at 4,252.73 points compared with the previous day’s 4,361.09 points.

During the trading day, the market capitalisation of the OTC securities exchange dropped 2.18 per cent or N67.29 billion to settle at N2.552 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s N2.609 trillion.

The alternative stock market was in the red yesterday after finishing with three price losers led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which gave up N8.57 to trade at N77.77 per share versus the preceding day’s N86.34. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N8.19 to quote at N170.00 per unit compared with the previous session’s N178.19 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc crashed by 26 Kobo to end at N2.51 per share versus N2.77 per share.

Business Post reports that there were also three price gainers during the session, led by Golden Capital Plc, which chalked up 67 Kobo to sell at N13.67 per unit versus N13.00 per unit. Afriland Properties Plc gained 65 Kobo to trade at N16.85 per share compared with the previous price of N16.20 per share, and MRS Oil added 3 Kobo to close at N142.23 per unit versus N142.00 per unit.

The volume of trades was up by 20.3 per cent on Friday to 954,106 units from 792,835 units, and the number of deals increased by 75 per cent to 35 deals from 20 deals, while the value of transactions went down by 12.9 per cent to N42.7 million from N49.0 million.

The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 67.8 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.

Economy

Sell-Offs in GTCO, First Holdco Crash NGX All-Share Index by 0.62%

Published

2 days ago

20/06/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock exchange remained in the red on Friday after it further depreciated by 0.62 per cent due to panic sell-offs in some bellwether equities.

NAHCO lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N148.50, Royal Exchange depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N1.53, GTCO slumped by 9.97 per cent to N115.55, First Holdco dropped 9.84 per cent to quote at N55.00, and Neimeth slipped by 9.60 per cent to N28.12.

On the flip side, Deap Capital increased by 9.89 per cent to N4.89, RT Briscoe expanded by 9.62 per cent to N13.10, International Energy Insurance advanced by 7.43 per cent to N5.06, Jaiz Bank gained 7.14 per cent to sell for N9.00, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank rose by 5.26 per cent to N4.00.

During the session, the energy index chalked up 2.35 per cent, but this was not enough to lift the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm to signify the close of trading activities.

This was because the banking sector lost 4.41 per cent, the insurance counter shed 1.52 per cent, the industrial goods space declined by 0.71 per cent, and the consumer goods segment tumbled by 0.13 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,463.45 points to 235,941.27 points from 237,404.92 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by M939 billion to N151.327 trillion from N152.266 trillion.

The activity chart was topped by Access Holdings, which posted a turnover of 65.0 million shares valued at N1.5 billion. Zenith Bank sold 35.2 million stocks worth N3.9 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 28.4 million equities for N217.8 million, UBA transacted 16.3 million shares valued at N650.7 million, and GTCO traded 14.0 million stocks worth N1.8 billion.

In all, investors transacted 440.4 million equities for N24.7 billion in 50,273 deals, in contrast to the 691.6 million equities valued at N116.9 billion traded in 50,025 deals on Thursday, implying an uptick in the number of deals by 0.50 per cent, and a decrease in the trading volume and value by 36.32 per cent and 78.87 per cent, respectively.

Economy

Naira Crashes to N1,370/$ at Official Market, N1,390/$1 at Black Market

Published

2 days ago

20/06/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira again depreciated against the United States Dollar by N7.16 or 0.53 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, June 19, to N1,370.46/$1 from the previous day’s N1,363.30/$1.

In the same vein, the Nigerian currency lost N9.07 against the Pound Sterling at the official market yesterday to trade at N1,814.76/£1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,805.69/£1, and crashed against the Euro by N6.43 to settle at N1,571.50/€1 versus N1,565.07/€1.

Also, the Naira weakened against the greenback in the black market during the session by N5 to sell for N1,390/$1, in contrast to the preceding day’s N1,385/$1, and at the GTBank FX desk, it shed N3 to close at N1,376/$1 versus N1,373/$1.

The official market’s FX liquidity has been facing pressure over the last three trading sessions, contributing to a decline in the official exchange rate due to rising demand for foreign payments.

FX reserves rose to $51.03 billion, the highest level since January 20, 2009, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The figure also represents the highest since the beginning of the year and under the administration of the current Governor of CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso.

The latest figure underscores the steady strengthening of Nigeria’s external buffers, which continues to reinforce investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and support exchange rate stability.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was mixed, with Bitcoin (BTC) up by 0.8 per cent to $63,225.80 after trading activity was relatively subdued due to a US federal holiday, as the absence of stock and bond market activity led to quieter conditions across crypto markets, even though digital assets continue to trade around the clock.

Further, TRON (TRX) also gained 0.8 per cent to sell at $0.3230, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 0.5 per cent to $579.84, and Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.1 per cent to $1,704.23.

On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) declined by 0.9 per cent to $1.13, Cardano (ADA) shed 0.8 per cent to trade at $0.1611, Solana (SOL) fell by 0.1 per cent to $69.23, and Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped by 0.1 per cent to $0.0831, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.