Norton Rose, Al Kamel Law, Cantor Fitzgerald, Absa, E&Y and AFRY guide Infinity Power on acquisition of Lekela Power
It is Africa’s biggest renewable energy deal and will provide electricity to nearly half of the region’s population
Norton Rose, Al Kamel Law, Cantor Fitzgerald, Absa, E&Y and AFRY guide Infinity Power on acquisition of Lekela Power
It is Africa’s biggest renewable energy deal and will provide electricity to nearly half of the region’s population
Norton Rose Fulbright, Al Kamel Law, Cantor Fitzgerald, Absa CIB, Ernst & Young and AFRY have advised Infinity Power on the transaction and acquisition of Lekela Power.
The acquisition will help improve energy access, boost economic development, and create jobs, especially in remote areas of Africa.
Absa CIB and MCB acted as the mandated lead arrangers on the acquisition financing facilities.
Infinity Power, a joint venture between Egypt’s Infinity and UAE’s Masdar, completed the acquisition of Lekela Power, an Africa-based wind power platform, making it the largest pure-play renewable power company on the continent.
The transaction was funded through equity investment from shareholders and debt from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking and Mauritian Commercial Bank.
Infinity’s operational portfolio now stands at 1.3 GW, with an impressive pipeline of 13.8 GW, delivering on its COP27 promise to become Africa’s fastest-growing renewable energy company.
Infinity Power was established in 2020, with key stakeholders including Africa Finance Corporation and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It aims to develop utility-scale and distributed solar energy and wind power projects in Africa. Its total operational capacity of 1.3 GW equates to reducing over 3 million tons of CO2 emissions per year using conventional power generation.
The company’s ambitious project pipeline of 13.8 GW is poised to accelerate Africa’s renewable capacity growth, as the International Renewable Energy Agency predicts the continent’s installed renewable capacity to increase from 54 GW in 2020 to more than 530 GW by 2040.
Currently, Lekela Power operates 1 GW of wind power projects in South Africa, Egypt, and Senegal, with a pipeline of 1.8 GW in various stages of development.
Established in 2015, it previously owned 60 percent of Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and 40 percent by Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holdings, a consortium led by 2015 founded global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power.