Geregu Power Plc, Nigeria’s newest listed company, said Friday it has commenced stake purchase talks with Fund for Export Development in Africa, a unit of Africa Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank), a move that could earn the latter a strategic investor status in the power firm.

Negotiations are still on “and where these talks progress to a more advanced stage, the Company will notify the Exchange and the investing public,” the power generation said in a statement seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

Geregu Power’s share price fell 5.7 per cent N122.8 in Lagos on the day of the announcement, a signal investment are possibly not impressed by the move.

The firm two month ago debuted on the Nigerian Exchange, listing 2.5 billion shares that carried a cumulative market value of N250 billion at listing. That was the first time an electricity company would have a separate listing on the bourse.

Owned by billionaire mogul Femi Otedola, Nigeria’s one-time third richest man, Geregu Power came close to reporting a half jump in net profit for the 2022 financial year after revenue climbed to N71 billion.

Its power generating capacity is currently 435 megawatts.