African renewables platform Lekela moves to new proprietor Infinity Power

• Dublin-based renewables developer Mainstream Renewable Power as well as private equity company Actis have finished the sale of their Lekela platform, Africa's largest pure-play renewables independent power producer (IPP), to Infinity Power.

The offer, with an enterprise worth of some USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.4 bn), was first announced in July 2022. Mainstream stated it expects concerning USD 90 million in net proceeds from the departure.

Lekela has greater than 1 GW of operational wind farms in South Africa (624 MW), Egypt (252 MW) as well as Senegal (159 MW), as well as 1.8 GW of projects in various stages of development.

The buyer, Infinity Power, is a joint venture between Egypt's Infinity and Masdar. Among Infinity's stakeholders are the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and also the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

The purchase was funded via equity plus financial obligation from Absa Corporate and Investment Banking as well as Mauritian Commercial Bank (MCB).

Infinity Power chairman Mohamed Ismail Mansour said the business will build on the acquisition to reach its target of installing as well as operating 2 GW of greenfield projects by 2025.

Mainstream team chief executive Mary Quaney commented that Mainstream's 150-strong South African team is concentrated on bringing the business's 11.5-GW pipe of wind as well as solar projects in South Africa to fruition in the existing decade and also past.

The Lekela platform was developed in 2015 as a joint venture between Actis with a 60% risk and also a Mainstream-led consortium named Mainstream Renewable Power Africa Holdings (MRPAH) with 40%.