₦airaland Forum

Banks, Dangote Group and other oil companies jostle for acquisition of Chevron Oil Nigeria
Tuesday, February 12, 2008 Printer Friendly Version

Banks, Dangote Group and other oil companies are making various offers for the acquisition of Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc.

This followed the news of the proposed divestment of 60 per cent stake by the San Ramon, United Sates-based Chevron Corporation, from downstream operations in Nigeria.

Chevron sources told our correspondent on Friday that the management of the Nigerian operations in a recent meeting with workers spoke of banks, the Dangote Group and other oil companies, including African Petroleum Plc and Oando Plc indicating interest to acquire the firm, which share price had gone up since the breaking of the news.

Investment in Africa starts to pay off
Widespread perceptions of corruption and violence do not deter some Western firms from putting money into African nations - often with impressive results.
By Marc Gunther, senior writer


Video
More video
A look at how the convergence of cell phones and PC's are changing the future of computing.
Play video
More from Fortune
Rivals credited for Visa's rich IPO

Retailers in the bargain bin

Waste not, want not


FORTUNE 500
Current Issue
Subscribe to Fortune

(Fortune) -- Read the news about civil war in Kenya, unrest in Chad, or genocide in Darfur, and you could conclude that Africa is no place to invest money.

But behind the headlines lies business opportunity. Africa's economy is growing at 5 to 6% a year. Inflation is down. Prices are rising for commodities like oil, copper and gold.

Like all emerging markets, Africa is a risky place to invest but "the perceived risk is greater than the actual risk," says Tom Gibian, the chief executive of Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C., that focuses on Africa.

The firm has invested more than $1.2 billion in several Africa funds since 1999. It has invested in 48 companies, exited from 18, recouped more than $600 million and posted an average return of three times its initial investment. "The financial performance has been terrific," Gibian says.

Among the big winners:

--CelTel, a mobile phone company with customers in 13 countries including Kenya and Uganda, as well as such very poor countries as Niger and Chad. ECP bought $50 million of stock beginning in 2000, and received about $215 million when CelTel was sold to a Kuwaiti firm five years later.

--Ecobank, a regional banking group based in Togo. ECP acquired about $12 million of stock beginning in 1999, took a seat on the bank's board, and sold for about $36 million in 2006.

--Societe International de Plantations D'Heveas, a rubber exporter with operations in Ghana and the Ivory Coast that subsequently acquired a Michelin plantation in Nigeria. ECP invested $14.8 million in stock and convertible notes in 2005, and sold for $48.1 million in 2007.

They've had losers, too, of course. A voice-over-Internet phone venture failed, as did a South African over-the-air television network.

Broadly, though, African companies have been aided by increasing efforts by government leaders to promote capital markets, private investment and trade. "The real news in Africa," Gibian says, "is that over the last five years, virtually every country, their presidents, and even the leaders of the opposition parties, have gotten on the same page regarding the primacy of the private sector, the need to deregulate, and the importance of attracting foreign investment. Centralized planning, state control of assets and socialistic rhetoric, for the most part, are dead. Market forces have won."

That's probably an overstatement. Africa's "overall level of economic freedom is weaker than any other region's," according to the Heritage Foundation's 2008 Index of Economic Freedom, which says the region "performs especially poorly in terms of property rights, freedom from corruption and business freedom."

But most experts believe that the business climate is improving. To spread its risks, ECP invests in about 30 countries and various economic sectors. It has more money invested in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, than any other. Telecom is the funds' biggest sector, accounting for about 30% of its portfolio. The firm has also invested in banks, mining companies, ports and airlines.

Some of its deals could have a big impact if they play out as planned. Two years ago, ECP invested $35 million in Nortore Chemicals, which is rebuilding an abandoned fertilizer plant in the Niger Delta that will use Nigeria's abundant natural gas to make nitrogen fertilizer. If all goes well, after production begins this spring, the plant will make fertilizer for about $100 a ton, a bargain price in Africa that will benefit local farmers. But the previous plant was shuttered because of corruption and neglect, so there are no guarantees.

ECP has 17 of 27 investment professionals based in five offices across Africa. Many are Africans. "You don't pay a visit and then spend $80 million," Gibian says.

Gibian and his chief operating officer, Hurley Doddy, are experienced global investors. Gibian, 54, spent 12 years at Salomon Brothers and Goldman Sachs Asia before joining Emerging Markets Partnerships, an investment firm which created ECP, in 1995. Doddy, 44, worked for Sumitomo Finance and Salomon Brothers in London, Tokyo and Sao Paulo.

They say they can get advantageous terms in their deals because African firms are hungry for capital. "The supply-demand equation for funding is tilted towards the supplier," Gibian says. "If you're a businessman in Kenya and you need $25 or 30 million in equity, there aren't a lot of places to go."

That could change as other investors move in. At the end of a five-day visit to Africa last November, U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson said that the U.S.'s Overseas Private Investment Corp. would provide up to $250 million in seed money to start three new Africa investment funds. Doddy says that's fine: "We're building a track record that is helping to show that Africa's a good place to invest. We want more people to ask: How can we get in on this game?"

Today's Learning Point for Newbies

•The PE ratio (Price / Earnings ratio) is the price of a stock
divided by past or future earnings (PE ratio = Price / Earnings).
For example, if the price of a stock is N20 per share and that
particular company earned N2 per share over the past 12
months, then the trailing twelve month PE ratio would be N20 /
N2 or 10.
•Many investors use the PE ratio to determine if a stock or the
stock market as a whole is expensive or not.
•For P/E to be meaningful,it should be compared with another
P/E

@aktopgun,

Na pure CICO me I de do for Niwi o, sold yesterday, and today o! Even Livestock, I sell!

If Niwi drop well, I go buy again. People like Windy, na on top of their seat they store all the wire and cables, so I sure say na long haul dem dey.

I no dey do sme sme for CICO again. I made the mistake on NASCON, bought at 16.4 and wanted to sell at 20, and then buy again when it fell, but wasted time.

Make I go buy more NASCON sha!

Today's prices

http://www.trw-stockbrokers.com/services.aspx

hbrednic:
for[b] unilever [/b] holders,holderm fine fine.
the've just signed an outsourcing contract with the tech giant HP.
and you what that means

I do not see how this helps Unilever in a big sense. They are paying HP $675 million to handle their IT needs, this pays HP.

See story below;

HP lands $675M outsourcing contract from Unilever
IDG News Service 2/13/08

Chris Kanaracus, IDG News Service, Boston Bureau
Hewlett-Packard's outsourcing business has scored an extended contract with Unilever worth US$675 million, HP said Wednesday.


On this topic



IBM says it will continue large-scale hiring in India
Barclays sells US call center to Indian outsourcer
India targets $15 billion from infrastructure management

Integrate or Consolidate? Real World Strategies for Next Generation IT Operations Management

Get practical tips, IT news, how-tos, and the best in tech humor.


The seven-year deal will see HP managing Unilever's IT infrastructure in the Americas, Asia, Africa, Turkey and the Middle East, handling day-to-day operations, implementing new applications, working with technology partners and managing third-party contracts, according to a news release.

About 250 Unliever workers will be transferred to HP under the contract's terms, the release said.

Neil Cameron, chief information officer for Unilever, said in a statement that the agreement is "a natural extension" of the companies' existing relationship. "The intention between both parties is to leverage HP's scale, expertise and industry leadership to ensure Unilever has access to world-class technology at substantially lower costs," the statement added.

Unilever, a manufacturer of consumer goods, has roughly 179,000 employees in nearly 100 countries. It logged €40 billion (US$58 billion) in sales during 2007, according to the release.

Chris Kanaracus is IDG News Service U.S. correspondent.

ACL:
Invisible,
hi, how was your day.
see my broker who bought

NIWICABLE today at 13:70

UTC 7:13

C&I 13:30

when have even 4gotten i gave those orders. thank God 4 pumping who gave the trade alert phone number and i was logged on yesterday or else i wont have seen all the purchase till he sends my cah statement.
what do i do with these over priced stocks
any hope for them

Did you put a cap or date limit on your order? Always do!

The Stock Market - 260208
Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The NSE All-Share Index was down by 24 basis points at the close of today’s session, as speculators sold out of positions in some small- cap stocks to lock-in profits.


The bearish trend in the banking sector continues, recording more declines than advances. Profit- taking on Fidelity Bank ensured it closed below the N12 mark at which it had hitherto found support.


At the close of trading, it shed 4.9% to close at N11.79. IBTC Chartered Bank following a strong start, gave in to offers, buckling marginally at the close of the session.


In the insurance sector, profit-taking was the order of the day. NEM Insurance recorded handsome patronage towards the end of the trading session when it traded on bid at maximum price; however incessant offers left it with a 4.4% rise at the close of trading. AIICO had a steady trading pattern, fluctuating within the N7.40 - N7.50 band for a great part of the session; it however closed 2.6% down due to investors locking-in profits.


Sellers also drove the price of Lasaco and Mutual Benefits to minimum for the day; while Lasaco had a free-fall to close at the lowest price for the day. On the other hand, new entries stemmed the slide of Mutual Benefits to a 3.3% drop.


Unavailable stocks are beginning to resurface in market, as speculators and investors seek to book profits. Nigerian Wire & Cable witnessed huge offers compared to previous sessions; an avalanche of offers dipped it to its lowest price, it however, recovered slightly to close with a 3.8% appreciation.

In the same vein, the likes of AG Leventis, DN Meyer and Livestock Feeds had volumes supplied by investors during the session. However, DNMeyer and AG Leventis still finished 5% up, while Livestock Feeds was only able to sustain a meager price gain. Neimeth, which has had days of persistent rally, closed on offer with a 5% loss. Vono Products remained unperturbed, as bid volumes continued to pile up during the session.

In that case ,Sir AkTopGun

aktopgun:
You LEFT OUT THE "GUN" IN THE NAME MAN!

No sweat. u're welcome

With all these college shootings for here, e dey fear me to dey mention that word.

MAke we change am to AkTopCAndle?

The story so far on Niwi has been too good to be true ke.

Make I lock in some profit before anything go happen sha!

Thanks AkTop,

TERM OF THE DAY:

Macaroni Defense

This refers to a corporate strategy taken by a company that does not want to be taken over. The company issues a large number of bonds with the condition that they must be redeemed at a high price if the company is taken over. Why is it called Macaroni Defense? Because if a company is in danger, the redemption price of the bonds expands like Macaroni in a pot



On livestock, notice it did not gain max today. Lets wait till AktopGun shines some candlelight on it.

@Easimoni,Windy? When will the Niwicable party be over?

@F02; UAC PPTY - After 15% ,make I chop more?

@ Livestock, to chop or to clean mouth?

AkTopCAndle,

Can you use one hand to do the backrub and use the other hand to throw some candle light on Niwicable,UAC ppty and Livestock.

Be careful not to let candlewax fall on Madam's back o!

CICO stocks from the last 7 pages

oando
airservices
presco
gcappa
utc
ipwa
eternal
rt-brisco
adswitch
conoil
vono
polyprod

CAVEAT TEMPTRESSES

ABC charging on
Livestock is slowing down,
NASCON lost
Niwicable slowing down
Presco lost
SCOA holding on

Someone please provide today's prices, so I can head out to my day job o!

http://www.meristem.com.ng/pricelist.php

President wey suppose fix energy sector, provide enabling enviroment dey carry him babanriga load cement. Misplaced priorities!

Why is Seun defacing the front page with threads like this?

windywendy:
Lesson #21: never do CICO unless your broker is superman 

Lesson #22: Make sure your superman broker is not going to be out of office the week you plan to execute your CICO moves!


I do have a superman broker,and issued my buys and sells for this week only to get a reply that he will be out of office this week and will pass on my instructions to a colleague. See me see trouble o!

@all the guys who are causing katakata here when we should be enjoying the gurus in this bullish market, send me your house addresses so I can send Darling below to persuade you convincingly on why you should behave!

The One:
@loma

Shey na the work wey we dey pay you to do be this abi? Spending all day on this thread abi? P_P go talk at the end of the year o.

Anyways, this na your man, from Ife and we both work for the same company albeit at different ends of the world? You should have an idea now.

You still dey go Luanda?

Shey na u? Let me guess, you worked for us ,and then took off to add more pali,and now you are back! Wetin efico dey do for stock market? Go drill black gold for us o!

I just came back from 6 weeks in Luanda jare, so na vacation I bin dey this week,and I don make my monthly salary (wey tax no fit chop) for 1 week on NSE sef!

Holla me at my biz email (andraskarrer AT yahoo.com)

@AkTopGun

Can you light your candles on Nascon  for this week?  I still dey look for Cat-skin before I fit use the candles wey I order!

At Pure CICOers!  If you had 5 million naira today and intend to buy stoCk based on today's prices and sell on Friday looking for max 15% gain, where would you put the money outside Insurance and Banking?

YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THAT STOCK IN YOUR PERSONAL PORTFOLIO O!

These companies are expected to float thier Offers soon
NEM Insurance Plc
Crusader Insurance Plc
Unity Bank Plc
Union Homes (REIT)
Custodian & Allied Insurance Plc
Niger Insurance Plc
Linkage Assurance Plc
Standard Alliance Plc
Oasis insurance Plc
Staco insurance Plc

Sheathe your swords!

Where there is money to be made, even bull and bear no dey fight!

@Ololufemi,

I don miss your praise-singing no be small! Please recite F02's complete oriki make we hear.

That CCNN na real convergence between F02 and AkTopGun. I no dey miss convergence stocks like that, right at the confluence of River Niger and Benue!  The only way to flow now na North!

@AktopGun. See synonyms for Arsenal. Let me know if you need more

ammo dump, archives, armory, artillery park, assembly line, assembly plant, atomic arsenal, atomic energy plant, attic, bank, basement, bay, bin, bindery, boatyard, boilery, bonded warehouse, bookbindery, bookcase, box, brewery, brickyard, bunker, buttery, cannery, cargo dock, cellar, chest, closet, conservatory, crate, creamery, crib, cupboard, dairy, defense plant, depository, depot, distillery, dock, dockyard, drawer, dump, exchequer, factory, factory belt, factory district, feeder plant, flour mill, glory hole, godown, gun park, hold, hutch, industrial park, industrial zone, library, locker, lumber room, lumberyard, magasin, magazine, main plant, manufactory, manufacturing plant, manufacturing quarter, mill, mint, munitions plant, oil refinery, packing house, park, plant, pottery, power plant, production line, push-button plant, rack, refinery, repertory, repository, reservoir, rick, sawmill, shelf, shipyard, stack, stack room, stock room, storage, store, storehouse, storeroom, subassembly plant, sugar refinery, supply base, supply depot, tank, tannery, treasure house, treasure room, treasury, vat, vault, warehouse, wine cellar, winery, yard, yards

aktopgun:
I mean no harm mate.  As u know, there's more than one way to skin a cat.    
   

No wonder your candle dey shine way pass mine! Na cat skin be the answer!

Make nobody stress all the gurus for house o. This is a free forum, and everyone is advised to do their due dilligence. If any one wants to post a caveat , no problem,and if they choose not, nao problema.

Na you dey take your money buy the stock na?

I have made millions on advice here, I have also lost thousands on advice here, but the buck lies with me.

Abi I share the profit wey i chop from Niwi with Wendy? Or the one wey I chop fromUAC-PROP with F02?  So why I go blame F02 when I crash from Wapcojet or blame Easimoni when I drop prematurely from Japaul?

Abeg all of una carry go,and dispense freely,

Nascon on the rise (ala aktopGun)

Today's prices.

http://www.trw-stockbrokers.com/services.aspx