By Juliet Umeh

Leading mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions and advisory firms in West Africa have been recognised at the DealMakers AFRICA Annual Gala Awards held in Lagos.

The event, which took place at EbonyLife Place, highlighted activities within the mergers and acquisitions and broader corporate finance space over the past year, with awards largely based on deal value and volume. DealMakers AFRICA also acknowledged the contribution of strategic partners, including TSM Network Ltd, for their support in hosting the event.

According to the organisers, most categories were determined using objective criteria such as the number and size of transactions handled by advisers, while key categories including Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year and Individual DealMaker of the Year were subjected to a detailed review process assessing execution complexity, deal size and overall impact.

For the West Africa Deal of the Year category, five transactions were shortlisted, including Presco’s ₦236 billion rights issue, Bosquet Investments’ acquisition of a 21.22 per cent stake in Ecobank Transnational, Guaranty Trust Holding Company’s international equity offering and listing on the London Stock Exchange, West Power and Gas’ disposal of a 60 per cent stake in Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and the listing of the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund on the Nigerian Exchange.

GTCO’s international equity offering and London listing emerged as the winner, with DealMakers AFRICA noting that the transaction marked a significant development in Nigeria’s capital market and reflected growing participation of African financial institutions in global markets. Advisers on the deal included Citigroup Global Markets, Chapel Hill Denham, Banwo & Ighodalo, Aluko & Oyebode, N. Dowuona and Company, White & Case, Clifford Chance, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie and Ernst & Young.

In the Private Equity Deal of the Year category, four transactions were shortlisted, including the disposal of Baobab to Beltone Holdings, Africa Capital Alliance’s exit from Aradel Holdings, Helios Investment Partners’ exit from Axxela, and Arnergy’s Series B equity raise.

Helios Investment Partners’ exit of its 75 per cent stake in Axxela emerged as the winner, with the deal described as one of the largest private equity exits in Nigeria’s energy sector in recent years. Advisers included Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, Banwo & Ighodalo, Latham & Watkins, DLA Piper Africa and Asafo & Co.

For the Individual DealMaker of the Year category, seven professionals were shortlisted, with the award jointly presented to Seyi Bella, partner at Banwo & Ighodalo, and Bimbo Oyeyiga, head of corporate finance at Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria.

Other awards recognised top financial and legal advisers across transactions. In the M&A category, Standard Chartered Bank ranked first as financial adviser by deal value, followed by Morgan Stanley and Stanbic IBTC Capital, while Enexus Finance led by deal activity.

In legal advisory rankings for M&A, Dentons ranked first by deal value, followed by Templars and Asafo & Co, while Asafo & Co led by activity.

Across equity transactions, Coronation Merchant Bank ranked first by value, followed by FCMB Capital Markets and CardinalStone Partners, while CardinalStone led by activity.

Banwo & Ighodalo emerged as the leading legal adviser in both value and activity for equity transactions, ahead of Olaniwun Ajayi and Templars.

In debt market transactions, Stanbic IBTC Capital ranked first by both value and activity among financial advisers, followed by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria and Vetiva Advisory Services, while Banwo & Ighodalo also led legal advisory rankings.

The DealMakers Awards were first introduced in South Africa in 2000 and expanded across the continent in 2008 under the DealMakers AFRICA platform.