BUA makes strategic acquisition of P.W. Nigeria to deepen footprint in infrastructure business

BUA Group, the conglomerate run by Forbes magazine listed African billionaire, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has acquired majority ownership of P.W. Nigeria Limited, a major construction and engineering company in the country with additional interest in mining.

The acquisition will deepen BUA’s investments in the infrastructure business across sub-Saharan Africa, the group said in a statement made available to business a.m. over the weekend.
The conglomerate founded by billionaire Rabiu in 1988 has interests in the foods, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure space in Africa with signature investments in cement, mining, real estate, steel, port operations, sugar and agribusiness.

“This acquisition marks the beginning of the next phase of our medium term strategy for our infrastructure business following the completion of the consolidation of our cement arm, BUA Cement, in January 2020. BUA’s acquisition of majority holdings in PW Nigeria Limited provides a prime opportunity to increase our investments in the entire value chain of the cement, mining and construction industry where we already have BUA Cement Plc, the second largest cement company in Nigeria, as well as investments in other areas including mining, quarrying, construction, power and logistics amongst others. We believe P.W. Nigeria Ltd with its solid experience in building dams, roads, airports, water projects and other infrastructure projects in Nigeria provided a strong value proposition too difficult to ignore,” Rabiu, who is BUA Group’s executive chairman, said of the majority stake acquisition of P.W. Nigeria.

As a business strategy BUA appears to be positioning itself to strengthen its capacity for the expanding opportunities in the infrastructure space in Nigeria and the West Africa region where governments are looking to improve infrastructural development in the coming years.

According to Abdul Samad Rabiu, it became imperative for BUA to position itself strategically to support critical investments and government effort and unlock latent opportunities in the infrastructure development space.

The acquisition of P.W. Nigeria extends BUA’s investments, leadership and capacity in the infrastructure space and projects are expected to benefit from a tight integration of BUA’s cement business and PW Nigeria’s construction business, the group noted in a statement.

The acquired company, P.W. Nigeria Limited, was originally founded in 1948 in Ireland, but began operations in Nigeria in 1974 and now has over 45 years of experience working in Nigeria, and throughout the West Africa region.

It has an extensive modern fleet of construction equipment and a team of highly trained and professional staff with a high commitment to the continued development of country, the company said in the statement.

“We boast a diverse portfolio comprising mining, earthmoving, roads and bridges, airport runways, infrastructure development, water supply & sewage. These projects have not only helped grow local economies, but also improved the quality of life for the communities and people in the region. We have an unmatched combination of knowledge, skill, experience and customer commitment coupled with sound financial backing which elevates us as your number one partner in Nigeria and West Africa,” P.W. Nigeria describes itself in the statement.

BUA Group has key operations spread across Nigeria and an international presence in London, and has firmly established a reputation as one of the largest contributors to Nigeria’s GDP. It’s key cement holding, BUA Cement, is the second largest producer of cement in Nigeria and is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.