Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has partnered the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Kaduna and Kebbi State Governments to acquire a majority stake in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited.
This disclosure was made by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, at the launch of the BoI Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES).
“We have submitted bids for the car maker … with Aliko Dangote on board together with BoI, Kebbi and Kaduna States… We are confident our bid will sail through,” reported Reuters on Thursday.
Peugeot is a joint venture between ASD Motors and the French automaker, with a long history in Nigeria, the anticipated hub of automotive assembling on the Africa continent.
El-Rufai said Kaduna and Kebbi, along with BoI and Dangote, had submitted bids for the stake which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) is looking to sell.
Peugeot Nigeria assembly plant located in Kaduna State has Peugeot Citroen PEUP.PA as its technical partner “with a capacity to assemble 240 cars a day”.
Though conceived in 1969, Peugeot found its roots in Nigeria only two years later, after winning a bid during the Yakubu Gowon-led government.
In November 2006, PAN was privatised in line with government’s agenda to build a stronger, more competitive and diversified economy.
ASD Motors emerged as the successful core investor and took over the management of the company in January 2007, with a 54.78 per cent stake, making Sani Dauda CEO of both ASD Motors and Peugeot Nigeria.
The expectation was that the privatisation of PAN would create a quantum leap in performance, but that has not happened, the company confirmed.
“Following the accumulation of huge non-performing loans (NPL) indebtedness to banks, in October 2012, the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) acquired the debts of the company and converted a portion to equity to help restructure the firm,” Peugeot had said.
The planned acquisition is expected to revamp the presence of the company in Africa’s largest economy.
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