Leading mergers and acquisitions transactions and advisory firms in West Africa have been recognised at the DealMakers AFRICA Annual Gala Awards held in Lagos.

The event, which took place at EbonyLife Place, highlighted activities within the mergers and acquisitions and broader corporate finance space over the past year, with awards based largely on deal value and volume.

DealMakers AFRICA also acknowledged the contribution of strategic partners, including TSM Network Ltd, for their support in the successful hosting of the event.

DealMakers AFRICA said most of the categories were determined using objective criteria such as the number and size of transactions handled by advisers.

However, three categories, including Deal of the Year, Private Equity Deal of the Year and Individual DealMaker of the Year, were determined through a more detailed review process.

This involved assessing factors such as execution complexity, deal size, transformational impact and potential for value creation, alongside nominations submitted by advisory firms.

For the West Africa Deal of the Year category, five transactions were shortlisted. These included Presco’s ₦236 billion rights issue, Bosquet Investments’ acquisition of a 21.22 per cent stake in Ecobank Transnational, GTCO’s international equity offering and listing on the London Stock Exchange, West Power and Gas’ disposal of a 60 per cent stake in Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and the listing of the MOFI Real Estate Investment Fund on the Nigerian Exchange.

GTCO’s international equity offering and listing on the London Stock Exchange emerged as the winner. According to DealMakers AFRICA, the transaction marked a significant development in Nigeria’s capital market and reflected growing participation by African financial institutions in global markets.

Advisers on the deal included Citigroup Global Markets, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory, Banwo & Ighodalo, ALN Nigeria | Aluko & Oyebode, N. Dowuona and Company, White & Case, Clifford Chance, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, and Ernst & Young.

In the Private Equity Deal of the Year category, four transactions were shortlisted, namely the disposal of Baobab to Beltone Holdings, Africa Capital Alliance’s exit from Aradel Holdings, Helios Investment Partners’ exit from Axxela, and Arnergy’s Series B equity raise.

Helios Investment Partners’ exit of its 75 per cent stake in Axxela was named the winner. The transaction is considered one of the largest private equity exits in Nigeria’s energy sector in recent years and was noted for reflecting sustained investor interest in infrastructure assets. Advisers on the deal included Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, Banwo & Ighodalo, Latham & Watkins, DLA Piper Africa (Nigeria) | Olajide Oyewole, and Asafo & Co.

For the Individual DealMaker of the Year category, seven professionals were shortlisted from an initial pool of 13 nominees following a review of transactions completed within the year.

Those shortlisted included Ayodeji Oyetunde of Aluko & Oyebode, Azeezah Muse-Sadiq of Banwo & Ighodalo, Bimbo Oyeyiga of Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria, Fidelis Adewole of G.Elias, Seyi Bella of Banwo & Ighodalo, Taofeek Siyanbola of Stanbic IBTC Capital, and Wolemi Esan of Owaniwu Ajayi.

The award was jointly presented to Seyi Bella, a partner at Banwo & Ighodalo, and Bimbo Oyeyiga, head of corporate finance at Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria.

Other awards presented at the event recognised top financial and legal advisers across mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions.

In the mergers and acquisitions category, Standard Chartered Bank ranked first as financial adviser by deal value, followed by Morgan Stanley and Stanbic IBTC Capital. Enexus Finance led by deal activity, with Stanbic IBTC Capital and KeysFinance Partners sharing second place.

In the legal advisory category for mergers and acquisitions, Dentons ranked first by deal value, followed by Templars and Asafo & Co, while Asafo & Co led by deal activity, ahead of G.Elias and Templars.

Across equity market transactions, Coronation Merchant Bank ranked first as financial adviser by transaction value, followed by FCMB Capital Markets and CardinalStone Partners. CardinalStone Partners led by activity, with Coronation Merchant Capital and FCMB Capital Markets tied in second place.

Banwo & Ighodalo emerged as the leading legal adviser in both value and activity for equity transactions, followed by Olaniwun Ajayi and Templars in value rankings, while ALN Nigeria | Aluko & Oyebode and Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie featured among top advisers by activity.

In debt market transactions, Stanbic IBTC Capital ranked first by both transaction value and activity among financial advisers, followed by Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria and Vetiva Advisory Services. Banwo & Ighodalo also led the legal advisory rankings by value and activity, ahead of G.Elias and Templars.

The DealMakers Awards were first introduced in South Africa in 2000 and later expanded across the continent in 2008 under the DealMakers AFRICA platform.