Denham International Power Launches New Africa Power Investment Platform in partnership with Themis

| Sustainable Infrastructure

Denham-backed Themis will initially target $250M of equity investments in natural gas and renewable power generation assets across Africa

London, 28 February 2018 – Denham Capital, a leading global energy-focused private equity firm, acting through its International Power Fund, is pleased to announce the establishment of its new Africa Power Investment Platform in partnership with Themis. The widely recognised Themis team has been responsible for developing and financing some of Africa’s most significant infrastructure and power projects over the last decade. The partnership with Themis will build on Denham Capital’s leading position as an investor and developer of natural gas-fired and renewable power generation assets across Africa.

The Themis team comprises professionals with wide-ranging experience in power project development, equity investments, lending and arranging senior and sub debt facilities in limited recourse and corporate finance transactions across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US.  The Themis team is actively developing circa 400MW across the African continent, including the 44MW Singrobo hydro project in Ivory Coast which is expected to break ground before summer 2018, and is targeting the development of over 1GW of gas-fired and renewable power generation projects in the medium term. The team will be headquartered in Morocco through the incorporation of a new company, Neo Themis.

On the formation of this new platform and partnership, Scott Mackin, Head of Denham’s International Power Team, stated: “As far as Africa goes, the Themis team brings an unparalleled combination of development and finance experience, local and cross-border relationships, strong ties with lenders, a substantial target pipeline and execution track record to Denham. We’ve already built up a strong track record of delivery in Africa, and with this new venture we are poised to become leaders in this space.”

Tas Anvaripour, CEO of Neo Themis commented: “We are excited about partnering with Denham Capital in this new growth phase of our operations. With the strong support of a sophisticated private equity firm in the power sector like Denham, we are confident we will achieve our goal of expediting the development, financing and construction of our transformational projects. Despite increased competition, the number of projects reaching closing is still largely below the needs of the continent and this new venture is well positioned to fill the gap.”

Notes to Editors

About Denham Capital

Denham Capital is a leading energy and resources-focused global private equity firm with more than $9.3 billion of invested and committed capital across nine fund vehicles and offices in London, Boston, Houston, São Paulo and Perth. The firm makes direct investments in the energy and resources sectors, including businesses involving international power, oil and gas, and mining, across the globe. Denham’s investment professionals apply deep operational and industry experience and work in partnership with management teams to achieve long-term investment objectives. For more information about Denham Capital, visit www.denhamcapital.com.

 

About Themis

The Themis team is located in Morocco through the incorporation of Neo Themis, and is based in the Casablanca Finance City community, the emerging financial gateway between north and south.

Led by Tas Anvaripour, Chief Executive Officer, Marc Mandaba, Chief Investment Officer and Axel Acakpo-Satchivi, General Counsel, the Neo Themis core investment team currently comprises 11 professionals with project development, investment and financing backgrounds gained in both the public and private sector.

With over 140 years of combined infrastructure and industry experience, including 85 years in Africa. In their past professional lives, the Themis team has participated in African infrastructure projects aggregating several billion Dollars in total project costs, through more than 35 transactions. In the power sector, over the last 10 years, the team has participated in the closing of over a dozen projects as developers, equity providers, lenders or mandate lead arrangers across Africa.  Prior to establishing Themis, the founding members of the Themis team held senior positions at Africa50 (the largest infrastructure initiative for Africa), the African Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation.

 

Media Contact:

Emerson Clarke, FTI Consulting

[email protected] / +44 (0) 20 3727 1000