Companies operating in Nigeria were involved in deals worth over $4.94 billion (N2.06 trillion) in the first half of 2022, representing a 5.5% increase compared to $4.3 billion recorded during the comparable period in 2021.
This is according to the information contained in a comprehensive Corporate DEALs Book report for H1 2022, published by Nairametrics Research.
The report by Nairametrics captured 187 deals across various sectors of the Nigerian economy, including corporate bond issuances, commercial papers, seed/series fundraising, venture rounds, and mergers/acquisitions amongst others.
The pace of the deal-making trends further demonstrates the continuing appetite for businesses operating in Nigeria, especially startups, which made up 82.9% of the deal-making companies captured in this report.
The disaggregated report showed that $2.91 billion was recorded in Q1 2022, while $2.02 billion was recorded in Q2.
Highlights of the Report
- The FinTech sector had the highest number of deals in H1 2022, accounting for 57 out of the 187 deals that were recorded in the review period.
- The Technology sector brought in the most value in the period under review, with total deals worth $845 Million
- Seed/Series Funding was the most popular with 86 deals valued at $886.3 million (or N369.69 billion), followed by venture round with 37 deals valued at $50 million (or N20.87 billion).
Utilization of the funds ranged from simple working capital for domestic operations to cross-border expansion of businesses. Although some organizations did not disclose the value of deals consummated in the period under review.
Some of the notable deals captured in the period include the acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Trust Bank Limited, a subsidiary of TGI Group. The deal, which was first announced in December of 2021, saw the transfer of 93.41% of Union Bank’s issued share capital to Titan Trust Bank.
Access Bank also announced the successful closure of a $50 million green bond from the international debt market, which was issued at a coupon of 5.5% in the first two years and then steps up (on the put option date) to 7.25% in the last 3 years to maturity, with interest payable semi-annually in arrears.
Additionally, startups like Bamboo, Voyance, OkHi, and Moove sealed a series of funding rounds during the period. The sectoral breakdown showed that the Agricultural sector attracted $147.5 million (N61.6 billion) across 7 deals, banking recorded $584 million, and the manufacturing sector recorded $489.3 million.
Commercial paper issuances in the first half of the year amounted to N223.88 billion, bond issuance (N217.5 billion), investments (N730.13 billion), and debt funding (N239.79 billion) amongst others.
