Nigerian energy tycoon Femi Otedola has received approval from shareholders to enter into negotiations to acquire the power business of Forte Oil, a publicly traded Nigerian oil marketing company where he was previously the controlling shareholders. On Thursday, at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the firm in Lagos, shareholders gave an approval to Forte Oil’s board of directors to enter into talks with Otedola to acquire Forte Oil’s power unit. In 2013, Amperion Power Distribution Company Limited, Forte Oil’s power subsidiary, paid $132 million to acquire the 414-megawatt Geregu power plant under a government-led privatization scheme meant to confront decades of chronic power outages in Nigeria. In December 2017, Forte Oil invested close to $100million to increase the generation capacity of the plant from 414-megawatt to 434-megawatt of electricity. Forte Oil’s share price jumped 10% on Friday to N29.7 (8 cents) on news of shareholder approval for the deal.

Source: Forbes February 08, 2019 11:26 UTC