AFRICA – Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, and the global wind and solar company, Mainstream Renewable Power have signed an agreement to sell the Lekela platform to Infinity Group and AFC, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Established in 2015 to deliver clean, reliable energy across Africa, Lekela has become the African continent’s largest pure play renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP).

The platform consists of over 1 GW of fully operational wind assets, including five operational wind farms in South Africa (624MW), one operational wind farm in Egypt (252MW), one operational wind farm in Senegal (159MW) as well as development opportunities in Ghana, Senegal and Egypt.

The platform was established as part of a joint venture between Actis (60%), and a Mainstream-led consortium called Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holdings (MRPAH) (40%).

The planned exit reflects the successful culmination of their partnership strategy for Lekela, following a comprehensive value creation approach.

“This exit highlights the hands-on approach we take at Actis as builders and operators of leading energy platforms of scale, delivering positive impact,” Lucy Heintz, Partner and Head of Energy Infrastructure, Actis, said.

“We’re proud to leave Lekela strongly positioned for its next phase of growth as an acknowledged sustainability leader supplying much-needed clean energy to communities across Africa, building on our Net Zero commitment.

“With our dedicated sustainability team, we have focused on an active ownership approach allowing us to deliver deep commitment to local African communities and environmental protection initiatives, investing behind the Energy Transition and delivering financial performance for our investors.”

Throughout the development, construction and operations journey, Actis and Mainstream have delivered on their guiding and robust sustainable development standards, guided by close engagement with local communities.

With the support of Actis’ and Mainstream’s dedicated sustainability professionals, Lekela has implemented the highest international standards in health, safety and environmental protection.

Lekela has also developed a deep commitment to local development and continues to operate a community investment programme that finances entrepreneurship, educational and environmental protection initiatives.

“Our acquisition of Africa’s largest independent power producer in the renewables sector is a major milestone in our strategy for growth across the African continent,” Mohamed Ismail Mansour, Co-Founder and Chairman, Infinity said.

“We are proud to be playing a key role in contributing to a brighter future for Egypt, South Africa, Senegal and the African continent as a whole.”

In June, Actis and Mainstream announced the completion of the sale of its Chilean joint venture, Aela Energía, to the Canadian-listed developer Innergex Renewable Energy, another milestone deal and proof of Actis and Mainstream’s leading role in accelerating and delivering the transition to renewable energy.

The Actis Energy Infrastructure team invest on a global scale in buy and build power generation and distribution businesses. The team has invested in over 70 renewable energy projects to date, generating approximately 11GW of renewable energy globally.

In 2021 Actis completed fundraising for Actis Energy 5 with US$6 billion of investable capital, enabling it to mobilise more capital to invest behind the Energy Transition and successfully realising three major energy investments in Latin America – the largest independent renewable energy platform in Brazil, the largest renewable energy IPP (independent power provider) in Chile and a leading IPP in Mexico.

In April 2022, Actis announced the signing of an agreement to sell Sprng Energy, one of India’s largest renewable energy companies and most recently announced the launch of a power generation business dedicated to delivering an equitable Energy Transition in Southeast Asia and an investment in Omega Energia, the largest publicly listed pure-play renewable energy generation company in Latin America.

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