IJGlobal Investor Awards 2025 – African Transaction Winners
The 3 winners of the African transactions for the IJGlobal Investor Awards 2025 were announced this evening in The Savoy hotel on The Strand, London.
This story focuses exclusively on the African winners which were chosen by the independent panel where – as always – judges are recused from voting on awards where they have an interest.
The African winning deals are:
- Energy Transition Deal of the Year, Africa – Volobe Amont Hydropower Plant
- Value-Add Deal of the Year, Africa – Moov Mali Africa and Moov Tchad Africa
- Oil & Gas Deal of the Year, Africa – Acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company
Energy Transition Deal of the Year, Africa
EDF stake acquisition in Volobe Amont Hydropower Plant
The acquisition of 37.5% of La Compagnie Générale d’Hydroélectricité de Volobe (CGHV) by EDF was chosen to win the energy transition award for Africa.
A choice that looks a little less stable given recent political upheaval, at the time of judging these awards, the panel was impressed by a hydro dam that “is relatively unusual” and in a “location that is challenging”.
Another of the judges said: “This was a landmark deal for Madagascar and a complex transaction to structure agreements with a mix of existing/new and local/international shareholders.”
There was also recognition that “a greenfield project in Madagascar will, I can imagine, be a difficult project to deliver”.
The existing shareholders, including Africa50, a key pan-African infrastructure investment platform, welcomed EDF as a 37.5% shareholder in CGHV.
Once operational, the dam is expected to generate 750GWh of renewable electricity per annum, representing around 33% of Madagascar’s current power production.
This landmark project will significantly improve access to clean energy and contribute to sustainable economic development in the region.
According to the submission: “The Volobe transaction stands out through its multi-dimensional innovation on both the legal and project structuring fronts.
“Bringing together Africa50 and EDF – a world leader in energy – as co-shareholders required the implementation of advanced corporate governance mechanisms tailored for large-scale greenfield hydro in an African context.
“The negotiation and bespoke drafting of the shareholders’ agreement ensured robust frameworks for decision-making, risk allocation, and sustainability commitments.
“The deal was also innovative in enabling a blend of local and international investment, which set a new precedent for collaborative infrastructure delivery in Madagascar.”
Value-Add Deal of the Year, Africa
Moov Mali Africa and Moov Tchad Africa
The $435 million dual-tranche loan arranged by IFC for subsidiaries of Maroc Telecom to support mobile network expansion and telecom license renewals wins the value-add award for Africa.
One of the judges said this was these were “key deals in a developing market” to support improved connectivity.
The deal involved IFC signing 2 landmark debt financing transactions totalling €370 million ($435m equivalent) which breaks down: Moov Africa Mali (€285m, $335m equivalent) and Moov Africa Tchad (€85m, $100m equivalent).
The transactions were structured as part of a €375 million regional envelope with Maroc Telecom that aims to strengthen digital infrastructure across several countries in Western and Central Africa, particularly in underserved and fragile markets.
It reflects IFC’s long-term partnership with Maroc Telecom and its parent company, e& (Etisalat), and builds on years of engagement.
Financial close for Moov Africa Tchad was reached in November 2024 and for Moov Africa Mali in May 2025, marking a major milestone in advancing affordable, inclusive connectivity across the region.
IFC served as the sole lender for this complex multi-country transaction, executed across 2 International Development Association (IDA) / Fragile and Conflict Affected Situations (FCS) countries – Chad and Mali.
The deal leveraged IFC’s ability to provide long-tenor, Euro-denominated debt in high-risk markets where private capital is limited, and mobile telephony infrastructure is critical for inclusion, stability, and economic resilience.
Also, IFC’s structuring unlocked €185 million in additional financing through credit insurance, helping de-risk the deal and enabling capital flows into fragile economies.
In addition to providing large long-term foreign currency loans to companies in fragile markets, IFC’s investment is also contributing to standard setting by providing guidance to the companies to develop and implement an environmental and social (E&S) management system (ESMS) aligned with IFC’s performance standards (PSs) and good international practice (GIIP).
Oil & Gas Deal of the Year, Africa
Acquisition of Nigerian Agip Oil Company
The $783 million acquisition by Oando of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) from Eni SpA was chosen by the judges to win the O&G award for Africa with one judge admiring it as “a challenging deal in a difficult environment”.
The acquisition funding also involved forward sales of cargoes, sale assignment arrangements with NNPC, and deferred consideration and notes.
The M&A deal was a combination of share and asset sale and purchase.
This was a first-of-a-kind transaction in Nigeria and was a hugely complex deal that had to respond to new laws, a shift in regulatory approach to responsibilities for decommissioning, and multiple financing sources.
On the regulatory hurdles front, this was the first successful M&A deal that followed the regulatory approval process under Nigeria’s new Petroleum Industry Act and was a “pathfinder” transaction for how to navigate this process and work collaboratively alongside the new Nigerian regulator.
The deal required innovative solutions to address stipulations made as part of the regulatory approval process in regard to significant and complex environmental and decommissioning responsibilities.
It serves as a turning point for Nigeria’s oil sector. The successful path found by this deal has allowed four other major transactions in Nigeria’s O&G sector (sales by Shell, Exxon, Total and Equinor) to follow the same path through regulatory approval.
This transaction was the first of those deals to successfully obtain the necessary consents, obtain financing support, achieve financial close and ultimately complete.
It also highlights the developing role of indigenous players in the O&G sector. The transaction had to address complex issues around the transition of operatorship and the assumption of operational responsibilities and transitional support.
This deal marks the start of a trend continuing throughout Nigerian onshore O&G.
Funding for the transaction was complex and sourced from various institutions and utilising different types of sources. There were novel elements of vendor-financing arranged by Eni, including forward sales of cargoes and financing arrangements with NNPC.
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