Templars, Victoria Islands Office, Global

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FinTech 2025

Profile

Provided by Templars

Managing Partner: Oghogho Akpata

Number of partners: 21

Number of lawyers: 100

Languages: English, French, Italian, several Nigerian languages

Firm Overview:

We are a leading African law firm, advising clients across sectors and geographies to provide innovative solutions to their most pressing business challenges. Our extensive understanding of the commercial landscape allows us to advise on the most effective deal structures to give our clients a competitive edge. Our work is divided into five broad practice areas: Energy & Natural Resources, Finance, Corporate & Commercial, Dispute Resolution and Tax. We have offices in key commercial centres in Nigeria and Ghana: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Accra.Our firm is made up of 21 partners and over 100 lawyers across Nigeria and Ghana.

For over 28 years, we have handled some of the most complex, game-changing business transactions in Nigeria across several industries. To us, everything matters when it comes to the manner in which we support our clients. We operate as a firm that is friendly, accessible and easy to do business with. Our priority is our clients – listening to them, understanding their business needs and providing strategic legal solutions for them. TEMPLARS lawyers are resourceful, practical and globally-minded people, with several years of experience in analysing business problems from a commercial perspective and proffering shrewd legal solutions.

Main Areas of Practice:

Power:

■ The Bureau of Public Enterprises on the restructuring of the now defunct state-owned electricity monopoly

■ The project sponsors on the development and financing of the pathbreaking 459MW Azura Edo on-grid IPP

■ The arranger on a $150m bridge financing facility for the development of the Ibom Power Plant

■ The Tolaram Group and MBH Power on the financing and development of a 300MW power plant

■ ExxonMobil on the development of a 500MW IPP and subsequent sale

Key Clients: Azura, ExxonMobil, Quantum Power

Contact: Desmond Ogba

Tel: +234 1 461 1294

Email: [email protected]

Banking & Finance:

■ An assortment of 31 lenders on a precedent-setting US$3 billion multisource hybrid corporate financing to Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) for the development of its Train 7 Expansion Project

■ NNPC, Shell and Total (as JV partners) on a $1b alternative funding structure for the financing of field development works in 30 oil fields

■ IFC on its (up to) $1.2b financing for the expansion of Eleme Petrochemical Plant’s urea fertiliser complex

■ FCMB on a scheme of arrangement and group restructuring to comply with the new Volker-rule style bank regulation and licensing regime in Nigeria

■ Guaranty Trust Bank plc on its divestment from its non-core banking subsidiaries

■ Eroton on a $663m reserves-based facility arranged by Afrexim

■ AFC and Access Bank on the debt finance to Neconde Energy Limited for its $585m acquisition of a 45% interest in Shell’s OML 42

■ Actis on a $65m financing for the development of a modern Grade A retail mall

■ Bank of Baroda on a $1.1b financing to Sterling Oil

■ The Lenders on the restructuring of the equity capital and $370m indebtedness of the Aba IPP/Geometric Power Group

Key Clients: FCMB, Afrexim, AFC, AfDB, Actis

Contact: Chike Obianwu

Tel: +234 1 270 3982

Email: [email protected]

Oil & Gas:

■ Eroton on its US $1.2 billion acquisition of OML 18 in Nigeria previously held by Shell, Total and Agip

■ Trans-Niger Oil & Gas on its $2.065b acquisition of a 45% interest held by Shell, Total, Agip in OMLs 11 & 17, a portion of the Trans Niger Pipeline and other associated infrastructure

■ Banco BTG Pactual SA on its $1.53b acquisition of a 50% stake in the African assets of Petrobras

■ Sinopec on its $7.2b acquisition of Addax Petroleum

■ Exxon Mobil on protracted but successful licence renewal negotiations with the Nigerian Government

■ CNOOC on its $15.1b acquisition of Nexen Inc.

Key Clients: Sinopec, Afren, CNOOC, Banco BTG Pactual

Contact: Oghogho Akpata

Tel: +234 1 279 9396

Email: [email protected]

Capital Markets:

■ IHS on its US 1.3b its dual-tranche bond Eurobond

■ Seplat on its $350m debut high-yield Eurobond

■ UBA plc on its $500m debut Eurobond

■ Fidelity Bank plc on its $400m Eurobond

■ Ecobank on its debut Eurobond

■ Afren plc on its repurchase by tender offering of its outstanding senior secured notes due 2016 and 2019

■ Barclays Capital on Sea Trucks’ $200m secured pre-QPO guaranteed convertible bonds

■ The joint bookrunners on Oando plc’s $400m rights issue of shares on the NSE and JSE

■ A Nigerian manufacturer on a proposed $400m proposed IPO and dual listing on the NSE and JSE

Key Clients: Afren plc, Barclays Capital, Transcorp plc, FBN Capital, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria, FCMB, UBA

Contact: Zelda Akindele

Tel: +234 1 461 1290

Email: [email protected]

Projects & Infrastructure:

■ The sponsors on the development of the Lekki Deep Sea Port

■ The sponsors on the PPP development and financing of the Second Niger Bridge and Toll Road

■ Azura Power on the financing of a 459MW power plant

■ The sponsors on the development of a 50MGD water desalination plant

■ The lenders on the $400m financing for the development of the Eko Atlantic City Project in Lagos

■ The project sponsors on the development of a proposed $10b petrochemical plant

Key Clients: PetroSaudi, FCMB, First Bank, Stanbic

Contact: Oghogho Akpata

Tel: +234 1 279 9396

Email: [email protected]

Private Equity & Investment Funds:

■ Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority on its fund administration and the structuring of various proposed investments and projects of the Nigerian SWF

■ FBN Capital on the formation of a PE fund

■ Travant Capital Partners on the structuring and formation of a $300m PE Fund

■ DEG and a club of Nigerian pension fund managers on the formation of an infrastructure fund

■ Portsmouth Securities on the proposed first-of-its-kind establishment of a Nigerian feeder fund

■ ECP on its establishment in Nigeria

■ A number of PE investors on the acquisition of equity interests in Seplat Petroleum Development Company

■ Helios on the acquisition of a 25% stake in Eland Oil

■ Zenith Capital on a fundraising that created the first LLP in Nigeria

Key Clients: Helios, RMB Corvest, FBN Capital

Contact: Chike Obianwu

Tel: +234 1 270 3982

Email: [email protected]

Mergers & Acquisitions:

■ American Tower Company on the $1.05b acquisition of 4,800 telecommunications towers from Bharti Airtel

■ Al Mirqab Capital on the $1.6b takeover of the LSE-listed Heritage Oil plc

■ CNOOC on its $15.1b acquisition of Nexen Inc.

■ FCMB plc in the divestment by FinBank plc of its interests in six non-core banking subsidiaries

Key Clients: RMB Corvest, GTBank, CNOOC, Sinope

Contact: Chike Obianwu

Tel: +234 1 270 3982

Email: [email protected]

Dispute Resolution:

■ In conjunction with Freshfields, successfully obtained a $2b plus arbitral award for ExxonMobil in a crude entitlement dispute with the Nigerian Government

■ Two respondents in a $4b UNCITRAL arbitration and related litigation over pre-emption rights dispute among shareholders of a leading telco

■ The Heineken subsidiary, Nigerian Breweries plc in a successful groundbreaking arbitration arising from the ‘take-or-pay’ provisions of a Gas Sale Agreement

■ SAPETRO at the Supreme Court of Nigeria on its OPL 246 relinquishment dispute with the Nigerian Government

■ Google Inc and Youtube Inc against a $1m alleged breach of privacy claim

Key Clients: ExxonMobil, Google, Nigerian Breweries

Contact: Adewale Atake, SAN

Tel: +234 1 461 1291

Email: [email protected]

Taxation:

■ ExxonMobil in successful conciliation proceedings with the Department of Petroleum Resources in a $280m 2000 MOU Reserves Addition Bonus dispute

■ Halliburton in its unprecedented successful challenge against tax treatment of recharges of sub-contract costs

■ Phillips Oil on a major Nigerian tax dispute

Key Clients: ExxonMobil, Halliburton, ConocoPhillips

Contact: Dipo Komolafe