By NOEL ONOJA

A total of $156.60 million, about N24.9 billion has been paid to the Federal Government by four bidders who emerged as core investors in the PHCN successor companies.

The amount, which represents 25 per cent of the bid value for five of the companies, is a mandatory payment for the acquisition of generation and distribution companies put up for sale.

A breakdown of the list of companies that have paid, include:

Amperion Power Company Limited: $33 million for Geregu Power Plc.; Integrated Energy Distribution & Marketing Company: $42.25 million and $14.75 million respectively for Ibadan and Yola DISCO.

NEDC/KEPCO: $32.75 million for the Ikeja DISCO; West Power & Gas: $33.75 million for Eko DISCO.

The payments are coming ahead of the, March 21, deadline for all the bidders to make the mandatory 25 per cent payment in line with the Share Purchase Agreements, SPAs, signed for the transactions.

Other bidders for the PHCN successor companies that are yet to pay are:

4Power Consortium (Port-Harcourt Disco); Aura Energy Limited (Jos Disco); Interstate Electrics Limited (Enugu Disco); KANN Consortium Utility Company Limited (Abuja Disco); Sahelian Power SPV Limited (Kano Disco); Vigeo Consortium (Benin Disco); Transcorp Consortium (Ughelli Power Plc); CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV  (Sapele Power Plc).

Others are Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (Kainji Power Plc) and North-South Power Company (Shiroro Power Plc).

Under the guidelines provided by the Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, the core or preferred bidders risk losing their bids for the respective companies if by March 21, the remaining nine companies are unable to raise the mandatory fees.

The bids will automatically go to the reserved bidders, usually the second highest bids quoted for the companies, except where the NCP decides otherwise based on the rules guiding the transactions.