Ardova seals pact to take over rival energy firm Enyo

Ardova Plc says it will, by the end of March at the latest, have perfected the takeover of rival energy firm Enyo Retail & Supply Limited, following the acceptance in principle of its offer and acquisition structure by Enyo’s shareholders.

That requires Tunde Folawiyo-backed Enyo to concede its more than 90 filling stations in Nigeria and over 100,000 daily retail customers across 15 states to the new owner, after barely three years in the oil and gas business.

The deal has to scale a due diligence hurdle and get the go-ahead of relevant regulatory bodies to go through, Ardova said in a note to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday.

Ardova, formerly Forte Oil Plc, came into being after billionaire Femi Otedola sold off its 74 per cent stake in the predecessor firm two Junes ago, in a transaction approaching N65 billion, to take a chance at power generation.

The fortune of the company in the first six months of acquisition saw a tremendous transformation, with the new management reporting a 520 per cent leap in after-tax profit to N3.915 billion for full year 2019.

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“AP (Ardova) will look to retain the Enyo branded stations which will operate side by side with the AP brand whilst leveraging the strengths of AP and its group companies,” once the deal is consummated, Chief Executive Officer Olumide Adeosun said in the document.

Shares in Ardova closed trade on the NSE Wednesday at N20 per unit, up by N0.30 or 1.5 per cent.