Africa Capital Alliance’s (ACA) flagship private equity fund, CAPE IV, has completed a full exit from Aradel Holdings Plc.
The divestment delivered a 3.4x return in dollar terms (17.1x in naira) after nearly a decade of investment in the indigenous upstream oil company.
ACA sold its 15.93 percent stake, representing 691.96 million shares, for N387.2 billion at a market price of N559.50 per share on September 25. The transaction marks the end of a long-standing relationship between the fund and the energy firm.
A significant portion of the shares was acquired by Petrolin Ocean, which has now strengthened its position in Aradel. Petrolin, which previously held 8.11 percent, purchased an additional 173.79 million shares valued at N96.4 billion. Thus, it boosted its stake to 12.11 percent, making it the company’s largest shareholder.
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This exit caps a journey that began in 2016, when ACA provided Aradel (then Niger Delta Exploration & Production Plc) with an $80 million loan facility at six percent per annum. In 2018, the investment was converted into equity, giving CAPE IV a 16.5 percent holding. That stake, worth N23.8 billion at the time, has grown significantly as Aradel expanded its asset base and later listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in October 2024.
Shortly after the listing, ACA trimmed its holding by 0.57 percent in a N19.8 billion sale to boost liquidity in the market, reducing its stake to 15.93 percent. With this latest divestment, ACA has fully exited its position, realising N406.95 billion in total proceeds ($272 million), one of the standout exits in Nigeria’s energy sector.
For Petrolin, a long-standing partner in the Aradel story and a member of the Renaissance Africa Energy consortium, this increased stake deepens its influence in the company’s future direction. Petrolin has been part of Aradel’s evolution from a pioneer in Nigeria’s marginal fields program to a fully integrated indigenous energy player.
The transaction highlights the robust value generated in Nigeria’s upstream sector. It also signals shifting shareholder dynamics that may shape Aradel’s next growth phase.
Aradel is currently trading at a market price of N560 per share, with a negative year-to-date return of 6.35 percent.