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Ownership Disagreement Delays AEDC For Three Years

November 21, 2019

The CEO blamed an unsettled legal dispute over majority shareholding in the DISCO to be the reason for the delay of the meeting.

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Shareholder of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, CEC Africa Investment Limited, has revealed that board members of the distribution company have not had their statutory meetings in three years and counting.

This was disclosed in a statement by its Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel Katepa, and made available to journalists on Thursday.

The CEO blamed an unsettled legal dispute over majority shareholding in the DISCO to be the reason for the delay of the meeting.

Further disclosing that the development had not affected the operations of the DISCO, Katepa said that supplies of electricity to Abuja and neighbouring states including Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa have been ongoing regardless of the challenge.

The statement detailed how CEC and its partner, Xerxes Global Investments Limited, acquired the DISCO, as well as how their business relationship gradually broke down.

It also stated that court actions had been taken in this regard with the situation yet to improve.

The statement reads, “The purchase price of AEDC was $164m and it was agreed by XerXes and CECA that this would be funded 25 per cent ($41m) by cash contributions from Xerxes and CECA and KANN would borrow the remaining 75 per cent of the acquisition costs ($123m) from a third party lender (which ended up being the United Bank for Africa).

“When the initial 25 per cent ($41m) was demanded by the Bureau of Public Enterprises as an upfront payment, Xerxes could not raise its equity contribution, leaving CECA to wholly fund the initial 25 per cent equity payment. CECA paid for that portion of the acquisition amount in full being $41m in March 2013. XerXes did not fund any of this equity payment.”