En ce début d’année, les deals transfrontaliers, engageant des entités mauriciennes, ont le vent en poupe. Ainsi, en fin de semaine, la Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd a scellé un deal de l’ordre de Rs 5 milliards (USD 120 millions) pour concrétiser l’acquisition par Infinity Renewable Energy BV de Lekela Power, Africa’s largest renewable energy platform.
Le communiqué officiel émis par la MCB hier indique que « Infinity Power is a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and UAE’s Masdar ». De ce fait, avec la conclusion de cette transaction transfrontalière, Infinity Power se présente comme « the largest renewable energy company on the African continent ». L’Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) et l’European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) sont les principaux Stakeholders.
Lekela Power dispose d’une “aggregate installed capacity in excess of 1 gigawatt” (GW), notamment en Afrique, dont l’Afrique du Sud, le Sénégal et l’Egypte. La MCB note que « this transaction adds to the momentum of MCB’s broad strategy to expand its renewable energy loan portfolio and to participate in the financing of african energy projects that will contribute in the transition towards cleaner energy source, as well as the improvement of the electrification rate on the continent ».
Commentant la conclusion de cette transaction à hauteur de Rs 5 milliards, Zaahir Sulliman, Head of Specialised Finance, MCB, souligne : « MCB would like to thank Infinity Power and its consortium of investors for their trust in MCB’s structuring and execution capabilities as joint MLA. We are delighted to have supported Infinity Power on one of the largest African M&A transactions in the renewable energy sector, and we look forward to continue assisting them in their growth strategy in Africa. This transaction also bears testimony to the financial ingenuity of MCB and its partners in bringing adapted solutions to its clients and to promote increased access to clean, affordable and reliable energy in its core markets. »
De son côté, Mohamed Ismail Mansour, Chairman, Infinity Power, se félicite de ce dénouement. « Having successfully finalized the Lekela acquisition, we will build upon this milestone to reach our target of installing and operating 2 GW of greenfield projects by 2025. With this transaction, we have delivered on the promise made during COP27 of being the fastest-growing renewable energy company in Africa. We continue to drive efforts that reduce carbon emissions, increase renewable energy sources, and develop efficient energy solutions for the entire region, in order to achieve our vision of providing clean, reliable and affordable electricity access to people in underserved communities across Africa », dit-il.