Nigerian businessman Femi Otedola has concluded the sale of his 75 percent stake in Forte Oil to Prudent Energy, a local oil trading firm, six months after he declared his plan to offload the shares.
Otedola, who has begun a six-week vacation in London, announced the sale on his Instagram page and he said he will now focus on Nigeria’s power sector.
“A few years ago, my team and I embarked on an arduous task of transforming a moribund petroleum marketing business, African Petroleum Plc (formerly British Petroleum) into Forte Oil Plc; a leading integrated solutions provider with solid footprints in downstream petroleum marketing, Upstream Services and Power Generation and one in which we built intrinsic value to the benefits of our shareholders,” Otedola told his 650,000 followers on Instagram.
“In line with my principle of business focus, we have divested from our marketing and upstream businesses and shall from now on focus and consolidate on the gains of our power generation business, Geregu Power Plc. We wish our successors the very best and urge them to build on our legacies which have been established since 1964”.
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(@femiotedola) on
…F.OteHe did not disclose the the financial details of the transaction, but Forbes Africa, quoting a highly placed Investment Banker said that Otedola sold the shares at a “very significant premium” to its current value.
Abdulwasiu Sowami: CEO of Prudent Energy
Forte Oil’s current market cap stood at $125 million as at the close of business on Wednesday.At its peak in 2015, Forte Oil had a market capitalization of more than $1.4 billion.
The website of Prudent Energy, the new owners of Forte Oil was down on Wednesday, undergoing ‘scheduled maintenance’.
But on LinkedIn, the company, which began operation in 2004 and has about 200 staffers, gave a profile of itself:
Prudent Energy & Services Ltd is a wholly owned Nigerian company which has its core area of specialisation in the downstream sector of the oil Industry of the Nigerian Economy.
Prudent Energy has grown over the last few years to become a leading indigenous oil trading firm. Her portfolio of assets include a 54 Million Litre fully automated ultra-modern petroleum products depot and a self serving jetty. Supporting her logistics are two marine vessels; MT Ashabi (29,005DWT) & MT Mosunmola (16,326DWT) and the company’s distribution capabilities are underpinned by fleet of dedicated trucks. Direct access to products by end-users is through a network of retail outlets delivering quality products and services.
Prudent Energy’s efficiency in service delivery as well as strategic partnerships with world renowned commodity trading companies such as Glencore Energy UK Ltd and British Petroleum has differentiated the company from its peers and among other things, aligned the company in a strategic partnership
with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) earning the company an award of a 2017 Term Crude Oil lifting contract which in turn opens more commercial opportunities with the corporation.
The company’s strategy is to diversify its product offering to the market – including a 12,000m3 LPG Storage facility due to be commissioned in the 2nd Quarter of 2018. The company also has plans to develop a 15,000
bpd modular refinery in the effort to explore other supply avenues for finished products in line with the Federal Governments aspiration for domestic petroleum refining capacity while simultaneously developing local competency.
Prudent Energy aims to increase its reach and ultimately impact lives by providing excellent products and services through participation in the entire downstream petroleum product value chain while keeping to her QHSE commitment. This end to end participation would in turn positively impact retail growth and sales”.
The company as of now has Abdulwasiu Sowami as CEO. Sowami, is an alumnus of the University of Maiduguri, and a Master’s degree holder in Corporate Governance from Leeds Becket University.