• Deal still subject to regulatory approvals Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja An Abu Dhabi-based specialised energy infrastructure platform, ePointZero, a subsidiary of 2PointZero Group, has announced plans to acquire a
• Deal still subject to regulatory approvals
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
An Abu Dhabi-based specialised energy infrastructure platform, ePointZero, a subsidiary of 2PointZero Group, has announced plans to acquire a 90 per cent stake in pan-African independent power producer, Azura Power Holdings Limited, in a transaction that will bring Nigeria’s 461MW Azura-Edo power plant under new majority ownership.
The transaction, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, will see ePointZero acquire the respective ownership interests of Actis and Africa50 through an acquisition vehicle established in partnership with Amaya Capital.
Amaya Capital, which founded Azura Power in 2010, will retain a minority interest of 10 per cent in the power generation platform, a statement seen by THISDAY yesterday indicated.
Azura Power currently operates 752MW of generation capacity across three African countries, comprising the 461MW Azura-Edo plant in Nigeria, the 116MW Tobene facility in Senegal and the 175MW CTRG plant in Mozambique.
The company also has a development pipeline of more than 1.5GW, comprising gas, renewable energy and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects, which could more than double its existing operational capacity in the coming years.
The acquiring company said the transaction marked ePointZero’s entry into African power generation through an established operating platform with immediate scale, resilient cash flows and an experienced management team.
It added that Azura’s operating assets generate around 10 per cent of grid baseload power in each of Nigeria, Senegal and Mozambique, highlighting the strategic importance of the facilities to electricity supply in the three countries.
Chairman of 2PointZero, Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, said the deal reflects the company’s commitment to deploying long-term capital into critical infrastructure.
“Reliable power is fundamental to economic growth, industrial development and long-term prosperity. This investment through ePointZero reflects our commitment to deploying long-term capital into critical infrastructure that can support that growth in key markets across Africa,” Al Nahyan stated.
In her remarks, Vice Chair and Managing Director of 2PointZero, Mariam Almheiri, said the acquisition of Azura Power strengthens the company’s presence in a region where energy demand, economic growth, and long-term opportunity are closely aligned.
“At 2PointZero, we are building platforms that create long-term value by investing in the infrastructure shaping tomorrow’s economies. As ePointZero continues to expand its global energy platform, the acquisition of Azura Power strengthens our presence in a region where energy demand, economic growth, and long-term opportunity are closely aligned.
“It reflects our disciplined approach to investing in businesses with strong fundamentals, local expertise, and long-term value,” Almheiri stressed.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of ePointZero, Mohamed Hesham, said Azura possessed many of the attributes the company sought in an energy investment platform.
He said: “Azura Power brings together many of the qualities we look for in an energy platform: critical operating assets, an experienced management team and a strong position in markets with significant long-term power needs.
“We are acquiring a business built on nearly a decade of disciplined execution, with significant opportunity to support its continued growth as demand for reliable power infrastructure across the continent accelerates.
“Together with our strategic investment in Elsewedy Electric and its established industrial and EPC presence across Africa, our acquisition of Azura Power deepens ePointZero’s capabilities in energy and infrastructure and positions us to pursue new opportunities across Africa’s evolving energy markets.”
Group Chief Executive Officer of Azura Power, Dave Peacock, described the transaction as a significant milestone for the company, saying the proposed acquisition represented a strong endorsement of the business built by its management and shareholders over the past decade.
Peacock stated: “This transaction is a significant milestone for Azura. We are proud of what our teams have built over the past 10 years and the confidence shown by ePointZero is a strong endorsement of that achievement.
“I would like to thank our shareholders for their trust, partnership and support throughout that journey. With ePointZero now joining Amaya, Azura is well positioned to build on its strong foundations, broaden its opportunity set and accelerate its growth across Africa’s energy sector.”
Azura Power said its existing assets were underpinned by long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and were located in three of Africa’s major natural gas reserve markets.
The company added that its mandate was to expand its operational portfolio in line with Africa’s energy transition, with planned investments spanning gas-fired generation, renewable energy and battery storage.
The statement noted that Azura had maintained long-standing relationships with national utilities and governments in its operating markets, while its projects had received financing and support from several international development finance institutions, including the World Bank, British International Investment (BII), DEG, the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), FMO, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and Proparco.
The acquisition comes as Africa’s power market enters a period of sustained investment, driven by population growth, urbanisation and industrial development, which are expected to significantly increase demand for electricity generation capacity.
According to ePointZero, electricity demand across Africa is expected to nearly double by 2040, while electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa remains at roughly 55 per cent, underscoring the scale of infrastructure investment required across the continent.
For Nigeria, the transaction represents another significant development around the Azura-Edo power plant, one of the country’s leading independent power projects and a major contributor to the national grid.
Amaya Capital said it initially developed the Azura-Edo project from a greenfield site into what it described as Nigeria’s first publicly project-financed power plant, in collaboration with the World Bank Group and other development finance institutions, before subsequently bringing Actis and Africa50 in as co-investors.
The deal is expected to provide Azura Power with a new long-term capital partner as it seeks to accelerate its expansion pipeline and increase its role in addressing Africa’s persistent electricity deficit.
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