A.P. Moller Capital exits Powergas via sale to Ardova-led consortium

The Copenhagen-based infrastructure fund is selling its Nigerian compressed natural gas business to Ardova Plc, targeting 100 CNG refuelling sites within 24 months.

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A bright daylight scene of a modern fuel station featuring a grey canopy over multiple fuel pumps and several large, white horizontal storage tanks lined up on a concrete pavement, with a dry, sparse landscape in the background under a clea

A.P. Moller Capital has agreed to sell Powergas, a Nigerian compressed natural gas (CNG) producer and virtual pipeline operator, to a consortium led by Ardova Plc and including Diadem Energy. The exit comes through the fund manager's Africa Infrastructure Fund I, which first invested in Powergas's operating entity, Powergas Ebedei Limited (PEL), in April 2019 via its Impala Energy Holdings vehicle. No transaction value was disclosed. Completion is expected around the end of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

Powergas operates four compression stations and a fleet of more than 250 tube skids, distributing CNG by road to industrial and commercial customers across southern Nigeria that sit beyond the reach of the fixed pipeline grid. Its Ebedei facility converts gas that would otherwise be flared into productive energy, delivering what the company describes as a double emissions benefit: reducing flaring at source and displacing diesel generators at the point of use.

The deal

Ardova is a downstream energy group with roots stretching back to its inception as BP Nigeria in 1964, spanning petroleum products, LPG, aviation fuel, lubricants, shipping and logistics. Adding Powergas gives Ardova a natural gas platform to sit alongside its existing hydrocarbons businesses. Diadem Energy, an existing virtual-pipeline logistics partner to PEL, joins the consortium alongside Ardova.

The enlarged business will combine Powergas's compression infrastructure and industrial customer relationships with Ardova's nationwide distribution network. Ardova says it plans to deploy CNG refuelling infrastructure across its retail sites, targeting 100 CNG refuelling locations within 24 months. The stated ambition is to position the combined platform as a leading domestic gas infrastructure and monetisation partner for upstream producers, with longer-term expansion into wider West African markets.

A.P. Moller Capital's chief executive Kim Fejfer said the transaction reflects the fund's model of combining capital with operational expertise to build businesses that support access to reliable energy. "The development of Powergas through Impala shows how our investment in essential infrastructure can support sustainable economic growth while creating long-term value for our investors," he said.

Market context

Nigeria's gas sector carries a structural tension that this deal illustrates sharply. The country holds substantial natural gas reserves but chronic pipeline infrastructure gaps have limited domestic utilisation, while gas flaring remains a persistent environmental and economic problem. Virtual pipeline operators such as Powergas have grown to fill the distribution gap, using road-based CNG delivery to reach industrial customers the fixed grid cannot serve.

Ardova's acquisition fits within the Nigerian federal government's Decade of Gas programme and the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG and EV), policy frameworks designed to accelerate domestic gas use in industry and transport. The CNG refuelling roll-out Ardova describes would supply commercial fleets and motorists, broadening the market beyond the industrial base Powergas has historically served.

For infrastructure fund managers, Nigeria's energy sector has attracted steady capital interest despite currency, regulatory and operational risks. A.P. Moller Capital is part of the broader A.P. Moller Group and is authorised by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority. The Africa Infrastructure Fund I investment in PEL, made in 2019 when the project was still in development, is a relatively long hold by private infrastructure standards, covering construction, commissioning and operational scale-up through to a trade sale.

The transaction was advised by a wide panel: Citi acted as sell-side adviser to A.P. Moller Capital, with BCG on commercial, PwC on financial due diligence, and Norton Rose Fulbright and Templars as legal counsel. Standard Bank and FirstCap advised Ardova and Diadem on the buy side. The breadth of the advisory panel signals a transaction of some complexity, even in the absence of a disclosed price.

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