For a global lender, Citi’s investment-banking presence in Africa is hard to compete with. The US firm has an onshore presence in 16 countries and covers 38 markets, with a dedicated team in Johannesburg supported by corporate bankers across the region.
Its Africa investment banking team, led by Miguel Azevedo, chairman of investment banking for the Middle East and Africa, and Claude-Stephanie Ngningha, head of investment banking in Africa outside South Africa and Egypt, had an undeniably good year.
In debt capital markets, it ranked second, completing six deals worth a little shy of $1.5 billion. In terms of size, the standout DCM deal in 2023 was the Kingdom of Morocco’s $2.5 billion sovereign bond. The dual-tranche offering, arranged by Citi and completed in March 2023, secured the largest orderbook of any African bond in nearly two years.
Another standout deal in DCM was the Republic of Egypt’s inaugural sukuk, a $1.5 billion sale of three-year Islamic bonds priced in February 2023. Citi was a joint lead manager and bookrunner on the sukuk, which helped the state repay $1.25 billion in five-year Eurobonds, and which was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Citi also helped global energy and chemical firm Sasol to raise $1 billion via a six-year 144/RegS bond in April 2023.
In M&A, Citi acted as exclusive adviser to AMEA Power on its $75 million private capital raise from Japan’s SoftBank. Closed in July 2023, the facility, executed against a challenging economic backdrop, will enable one of Africa’s fastest growing renewable energy developers to fund new projects across the region.
The standout DCM deal was the Kingdom of Morocco’s $2.5 billion sovereign bond, which secured the largest orderbook of any African bond in nearly two years
Citi also helped Actis on its sale of 100% of pan-African renewable energy platform BTE Renewables to two leading French corporations, asset manager Meridiam and multinational utility Engie for $1 billion, acting as sole financial adviser and provider of FX hedging solutions to the London-based investment firm. It was also financial adviser to Actis on its sale of a 15% stake in Nigeria-based Indorama Fertilizer, which closed in January 2023.
The US bank was also joint financial adviser to Vivo Energy on the UK petroleum company’s acquisition of South Africa’s largest gas station chain, Engen, from Johannesburg-based investment firm Phembani Group and Malaysia’s Petronas. And it was sole coordinator and lender on a milestone $130 million loan for Sun King, with the aim of expanding off-grid solar energy to low-income communities in Kenya.
