Nigeria: Deal Structuring Considerations under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2019

Industry analysts had predicted that factors such as macroeconomic recovery in oil production and prices and relative political stability following the April elections would result in concomitant boosts in GDP growth, business confidence, and M&A and IPO deal-making (including cross-border private equity (PE) transactions) in Nigeria in 2019. Available deal data for the Nigerian PE sector in the last 18 months appears to lend credence to such predictions, with notable transactions announced including LeapFrog’s investment in ARM Pensions, The Carlyle Group’s investment in Wakanow.com, continuing investment following the merger of Access Bank plc and Diamond Bank plc, Vectis and AGL’s investment in Leventis, AFIG’s investment in NEM Insurance plc, the CDC Group plc’s investment in CCAGF, and Verod’s investment in DayStar Power Limited, among others.