Dufil, privately held Nigerian noodle firm, to raise N40bn from debt market

Nigeria-based West Africa leading noodle company, Dufil Prima Food, is putting finishing touches to its plans to raise N40 billion from the Nigerian debt market, it has emerged. The debt being raised is equivalent to $131 million.

Popularly known across the sub-region for its leading products, Indomie, the company is now well diversified as a fast moving consumer goods company in the country, with eight locations in the country.

The company has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, the local unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank to arrange the debt.

Madhukar Khetan, Dufil’s chief operating officer said in a statement that the issue has been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission but that the timing of the sale was subject to market conditions.

In February the Dufil listed its N4.5 billion Commercial Paper Notes (CPs) on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange. It said then that the listing was aimed at improving its liquidity.

The FMDQ had said on that occasion that the quotation of the CPs followed the approval of the FMDQ Board Listings, Markets and Technology Committee.

The CPs were in N20 million Series 2, N1.1 billion Series 3 and N3.3 billion Series 4 under the company’s N10 billion CP Programme. FMDQ said the CPs would be availed adequate governance through their quotation on FMDQ to ensure the notes remain credible.

“These issues will also enjoy transparency through continuous disclosure of information as hosted on the quotation’s page of FMDQ’s website for the ultimate benefit of the investors and alignment of the OTC Exchange’s markets to international best practices,’’ it said at the time.

Set up over two decades ago, Dufil has grown to become the largest pasta maker in West Africa. It presently competes with listed rival such as Dangote, Flour Mills of Nigeria and Honeywell Flour Mills.

Dufil also makes cooking oil.

Several Nigerian companies have said they want to tap debt markets this year but local inflation still above 16 percent have kept bond yields high, leaving many firms undecided on timing of issue.