DEAP Capital’s shareholders approve name change to Critical Minerals Financing Corporation (CMFC) Plc
The Nigerian minerals and commodities ecosystem yesterday received a major boost as shareholders of DEAP Capital Management & Trust Plc unanimously approved holistic transformation of the company into Critical Minerals
- New dawn for Nigeria, Africa’s minerals, commodities ecosystem
The Nigerian minerals and commodities ecosystem yesterday received a major boost as shareholders of DEAP Capital Management & Trust Plc unanimously approved holistic transformation of the company into Critical Minerals Financing Corporation (CMFC) Plc, Africa’s premier private-sector minerals finance group.
At the well-attended annual general meeting held at Providence Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State, excited shareholders unanimously approved several joint resolutions to change the name of the company, approve strategic restructuring, raise additional capital globally, implement strategic enterprise transformation initiatives and gave the board of the company powers to enter into domestic and global alliances as part of the birth of a new corporation to lead Africa’s mining sector into a new era of home-grown value-addition and shared prosperity.
Critical Minerals Financing Corporation (CMFC) Plc retains its listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) while exploring the global financial markets to provided much-needed financial solutions to the entire minerals value-chain, starting from Nigeria to other African countries.
Shareholders, who were excited with the quadruple in the company’s share price since the advent of the new core investor, said they expected the new business direction to lead to make CMFC the toast of the investing public.
Shareholders also approved the appointment of Founding Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Mining Exchange and Mumbai Commodity Exchange (MCX), Lamon Rutten; a leading Nigerian specialized finance expert, Dr. Israel Ovirih; a top banker, Mr. Tope Oduseso and technology entrepreneur and businessman, Francis Ekeng as directors of the company.
At the board meeting after the AGM, the directors of the company thereafter appointed Rutten as the new chairman of the company while Ovirih was appointed President & Co-CEO, hief Executive Officer. Mr Anthony Adigwe was appointed as Acting Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Ikenna Oguike was appointed as the Chief Operating Officer during the transition period as the company’s transformation takes shape. The meeting had empowered the directors to reconstitute the board and relevant committees.
Yesterday’s AGM was sequel to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DEAP Capital and Banklink Africa Private Equities Limited and the injection of fresh capital by Banklink Africa into DEAP Capital. With the shareholders’ approval, Banklink Africa would also inject additional capital into the CMFC Plc.
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The company has also secured several high networth global investors from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Europe, with plans underway to further explore existing pipeline of investment commitments from across the globe.
Speaking on the emergence of CMFC Plc, Rutten said the new company would have remarkable multiplier effects on Africa’s global positioning by domesticating values from the continent’s natural resources within the countries through full optimization of the minerals value chain.
He outlined that the company, with its Nigerian origin, would gradually build up its businesses by exploring immediate deals within the Nigerian minerals sector, using the Nigerian experience as a showcase of competence and potential to convince other African economies.
He noted that the emergence of CMFC aligns with Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda, pointing out that by optimising the value-chain of its critical minerals, Nigeria could deepen economic growth and spread prosperity across the country.
“CMFC would invest in portfolio companies across the entire minerals value chain. In the upstream segment, we will be active in exploration funding, pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies, mine development and expansion, mechanisation and fleet financing.
“In the midstream, CMFC will connect funding to refining and smelting businesses, beneficiation plants, processing infrastructure, concentrate and intermediate product manufacturing. At the end, we will complete the cycle with bespoke financing solutions to downstream operators such as commodity trading, long-term offtake partnerships, metal storage and logistics and resource- backed financing instruments. So, you have a whole gamut of valurisation of the minerals sector, with profound multiplier effects across the country,” Rutten said.
According to him, while Africa boasts of more than 30 per cent of global mineral reserves, these have remained largely underexplored and undercapitalised. But growing interest from the private sector in exploration and beneficiation now presents a significant opportunity to bridge critical financing gap undermining the continent’s growth.
Ovirih, a first-class financier and Chairman of Banklink Africa, commended the shareholders for sharing in the vision of CMFC as Africa’s financial powerhouse for critical minerals and commodities.
He explained that the company would provide access to Nigerian and other African businesses in the metals and minerals ecosystem to raise much-needed funds globally.
He pointed out that with the caliber of investors, board expertise and enthusiasm that had greeted the emergence of CMFC, the group would unlock multi-billion dollar funding in private capital for Nigerian and other African critical minerals and rare earth industries.
“We are seeing a new dawn for Nigerian and African companies in the minerals and commodities space. It’s particularly instructive that CMFC is coming at a time Nigeria is exploring opportunities to leapfrog its economy to $1 trillion. Nigeria is well endowed and we see the minerals sector contributing more to the economic growth as we connect businesses to financing,” Ovirih said.
He said CMFC has potential to be the game changer for the Nigerian economy citing explosive global demand for critical minerals and rare earths powering the energy transition, digitalisation, aerospace, electric vehicle and advanced manufacturing.
According to him, CFMC is envisaged to becoming the institutional gateway for private capital seeking scalable exposure to Africa’s critical minerals and rare earth.
He said CMFC is coming on board to fill huge gap in the minerals sector as there is currently no private-sector-focused company that provides both equity and credit across mine-to-market value chains as well as in areas such as finances for beneficiation and processing infrastructure, logistics, trading, and structured offtake and metals and minerals sector agnostic.
He added that with its unique model combining NGX retail participation with international institutional capital, CMFC’s strong global mining finance leadership with built-in capital markets issuance platform is the perfect ideal to support all cadres of mining businesses.
He said the company plans to take advantage of pipeline of early deals in gold, copper, lithium, and mid-cap mines.
Ovirih said CMFC will operate a multi-region structure with offices in Lagos, London, Hong Kong, South Africa, Nairobi and others for origination, capital raising, and trading.
Outgoing Chairman of DEAP Capital Management & Trust Plc, Dr. Kenneth Olise, who was represented by Vice Chairman of the company, Mr Edmund Ani, urged shareholders to support the new core investor in its quest to make the company a very successful investment for all.
Announcing the impending restructuring of the board and his retirement and that of some other directors, Olise said Banklink Africa Private Equities Limited has the commitment to make the company become a globally competitive non-bank financial services group.
