Vivo Energy, the company formed by Vitol, Helios Investment Partners and Shell to distribute and market Shell-branded fuels and lubricants across Africa, enters its first day of trading today in 7 countries: Cape Verde, Mauritius, Madagascar, Morocco, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia. Over the next few weeks, the Shell companies in these 7 countries will register their new names, starting today in Morocco, where Societe Shell du Maroc has become Vivo Energy Maroc. All businesses will use Vivo Energy as the name of their corporate entity. Also making its debut today is Shell and Vivo Lubricants, which will manufacture and blend Shell branded lubricants for distribution across Africa. It will market and sell lubricants through exclusive Master Distribution Agreements with Vivo Energy companies.
Honoré Dainhi, COO and acting CEO of Vivo Energy said: “Africa is a true growth market for energy, and her customers deserve a dedicated, focused energy products and service provider. Over time, we want Vivo Energy, and Shell and Vivo Lubricants to be known as the most respected energy businesses in Africa. This means investing in key African markets for long-term sustainable growth and being a leader in safety and the environment. For our customers, this means access to the same high quality Shell-branded products but with an even greater focus on the customer experience. For our employees, this means building a culture of performance under African leadership in each country, accountable for local business growth.”
The launch of the two companies marks the first wave of in-country completions in a deal first announced on February 19th, 2011. Under the terms of the deal, which include regulatory approvals, Vitol and Helios are acquiring the majority of Shell’s shareholding in most of its downstream businesses in Africa. It is envisaged that when the final wave of the deal completes in 2012, Vivo Energy, and Shell and Vivo Lubricants will market Shell-branded fuels and lubricants in 14 countries across the continent and will employ around 2500 people.
On final completion of the transaction as proposed, Vivo Energy will operate more than 1300 retail stations across Africa under the Shell brand and will have access to around 1.2 million cubic metres of storage. Shell and Vivo Lubricants will have blending capacity of around 120,000 metric tonnes at plants in eight countries, producing Shell branded lubricants.
Vitol and Helios each own 40% of Vivo Energy, with Shell holding the remaining 20%. Shell and Vivo Lubricants is 50% owned by Shell and 50% owned by Vitol and Helios.
Shell, Vitol and Helios will now focus on securing the necessary regulatory and other approvals for the completion of this transaction in all the remaining countries during 2012.
Notes to editors :
The deal announced in February covers Shell downstream businesses (Retail, Commercial Fuels, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Lubricants, Bitumen, Aviation and Marine) in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt (excluding lubricants), Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cape Verde, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar and Mauritius. Shell’s downstream businesses in Namibia, Botswana, Togo, Tanzania and La Reunion are under review for potential inclusion in the deal at a later date.
Shell’s fuels, lubricants and refining activities in South Africa, the company’s lubricants business in Egypt and its exploration and production businesses, liquefied natural gas interests and most international trading activities in Africa are not part the deal.
Helios Investment Partners is an Africa-focused private investment firm. Helios operates a family of funds and their related co-investment entities, aggregating more than $1.9 billion in capital commitments, pursuing a full range of investment types, including business formations, growth equity investments, structured investments in listed entities and large scale leveraged acquisitions across Africa. The firm also managed the $110 million Modern Africa Fund on behalf of a range of investors which included the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation and several leading U.S. corporations.
Established in 2004 and led by co-founding partners Tope Lawani and Babatunde Soyoye, Helios is one of the largest investment firms focusing on Africa and is among the few independent pan-African private equity investment firms to be founded and managed by Africans.
Helios’ portfolio companies operate in more than 25 countries, and in various industrial sectors, across the African continent. The firm has significant experience in private equity investing across a broad range of industries and investment types – leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, joint ventures, seed-stage venture capital, restructurings, and strategic public equity investments.
Limited partners in Helios’ funds include several leading global investment funds, endowments and foundations, family offices, high net-worth individuals and development finance institutions, the latter of which include the UK’s CDC, the US government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank. Further details on Helios Investment Partners can be found at: www.heliosinvestment.com
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 90 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit : www.shell.com