By George Ozalla
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has disbursed US$975 million to part-finance the management buyout of Oryx Energies SA, paving the way for one of Africa’s leading independent energy companies to come under majority African ownership for the first time.
The transaction involves Oryx Energies SA (OESA), the holding company of Addax Energy SA, and represents a significant development in efforts to increase African ownership of strategic energy assets and strengthen the continent’s capacity to finance major industrial transactions.
Afreximbank acted as the sole lender, facility agent, security trustee and escrow agent for the transaction.
Oryx Energies has operated in Africa for more than 35 years, supplying, storing and distributing petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants. The company also provides specialised bunkering services for maritime operations and serves customers in more than 20 African countries.
Speaking on the transaction, Moussa Diao, Chief Executive Officer of Oryx Energies SA, described the management buyout as an important milestone in the company’s history and a continuation of the journey undertaken by its management team over several years.
He said the transaction demonstrated the capacity of experienced African leadership to steer established businesses towards new opportunities, while building on their knowledge of African energy markets.
Diao stated that the company would strengthen its activities in energy trading and infrastructure development across the continent.
He also acknowledged Afreximbank’s confidence and financial support, noting that the transaction demonstrated the growing importance of African financial institutions in supporting established businesses and facilitating their expansion.
President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Dr George Elombi, said the transaction advanced the bank’s mandate to drive the structural transformation of African economies.
According to him, the management buyout provides a strategic platform for strengthening Africa’s energy industrial ecosystem, expanding energy infrastructure and retaining more economic value from the continent’s abundant natural resources.
Elombi stressed that the deal would promote greater African ownership and participation in economic development through local entrepreneurship, value creation, capacity building and job opportunities.
The financing builds on Afreximbank’s wider involvement in Africa’s energy sector, including investments in upstream production, refining capacity and infrastructure development.
The transaction comes amid growing efforts by African countries and businesses to reduce dependence on external capital, strengthen domestic industrial capacity and retain a greater share of the economic benefits generated from the continent’s natural resources.
Afreximbank reported total assets and contingencies exceeding US$48.5 billion as of December 2025, with shareholder funds of US$8.4 billion.
