The Africa Capitalworks (ACW), a Sub-Saharan Africa-focused private equity company, has made a significant equity investment in the Dorman Long Engineering Limited (DLE) of Nigeria.
The Managing Partner of the ACW, Mr. Nana Sao, explained during the agreement signing ceremony between the two organisations in Lagos, that the investment would enable the DLE to further its next phase of growth.
The deal was consummated with the Chairman of Dorman Long Engineering, Dr. Timi Austen-Peters signing for his company, Sao signed for his organisation, just as the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr. Simbi Wabote acted as a witness.
Sao said: “We look forward to partnering with the DLE team to support its next phase of growth. DLE has built a strong reputation over 70 years of operating in Nigeria and its manufacturing facilities have internationally-recognised quality and product certifications. We are thrilled to support DLE’s accomplished management team in this dynamic sector.”
Speaking in the same vein, Austen-Peters, explained that the partnership with ACW would bring complementary skill set, strategic insights and differentiated value proposition as a permanent capital vehicle to bear with the company’s operations.
Austen-Peters said: “This investment marks the start of a new journey for Dorman Long, and I am delighted in the vote of confidence executed by our partner, ACW.”
He added: “The hard work, focus, and dedication of our team during this process further showcases the depth of our capacity and our resilience to overcome economic challenges, including cyclical oil prices, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the business environment in Nigeria.
“We have partnered with ACW on the basis of its complementary skillset, strategic insights, and differentiated value proposition as a permanent capital vehicle. We look forward to accelerating the implementation of our growth plans and expanding our rich range of capabilities and geographical presence.”
The DLE is an indigenous and market-leading company, which provides high-value engineering services, fabrication, asset management, and galvanising services to a range of high-quality international and domestic customers. The company employs over 400 people.
The ACW is a member of the Capitalworks Group, which is a leading independent alternative asset manager concentrating in emerging markets with control over US$1 billion for a diverse range of investors. It is focused on the mid-market in Sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, and combines the deployment of patient capital with a strong partnership approach.
Meanwhile, Wabote, has decried the propensity of Nigerians at top positions in the international oil companies (IOC) to sabotage their own country by insisting that oil and gas jobs in the county be sent to foreign countries for execution.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony between the two organisations, Wabote further lamented that Nigerians working with IOCs were always in the habit of working against their fellow Nigerians trying to participate in the industry’s businesses and projects.
He added that more worrisome was the fact that even the indigenous Nigerian companies were the biggest culprits in the act.
He noted that the motive of those Nigerians were neither driven by their believe in the country, creating employment opportunity, nor about adding value to the country, but about taking opportunities out of the country. This, he said, was a major challenge he contended with while trying to push Nigerian capabilities in the oil and gas industry, likening such challenge to the tornadoes America faces on a daily basis.
Wabote said, “If anybody thinks that my job is easy, you are making a big mistake. The headwind that I face as a person trying to push Nigerian capabilities in the oil and gas industry is even more than the tornado that America faces every other day.
“The same Nigerians that are in the international oil companies stand against Nigerians participating in those businesses, which is very sad. And they do this with all impunity.
“I get a headwind of the IOCs managed by Nigerians, saying no, we should take this jobs out of the country in order for people to be execute. The sorry state is that even the indigenous Nigerian companies are the biggest culprits who want to take the jobs out from the country.
“On a continuous basis in most of the companies, you have those Nigerians, whose motive are driven by something else, not about even believing in the country, not about creating employment opportunity, not about adding value. It’s all about expatriation, it’s all about taking the needed foreign exchange out of this country.”
He recalled that similar challenge surfaced when they wanted to integrate Total’s 200,000 barrels per day production Egina FPSO in Lagos, the biggest of such in the world today, saying the “opposition” to the project at the time “knew no bounds”.
According to him, “Today, we are proud to say that Egina FPSO -200,000 barrels per day production was integrated here in Lagos, and six of the 12 modules were fabricated here in Lagos.
“That is dreaming and wanting to create jobs. Through a tight process, we had about 4000 Nigerian welders participating in that project. But today, all we get is serious resistance from our own Nigerians who should believe in it. But we will not give up, because we have an assignment and we will continue to push the boundaries”.
