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The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has provided a $975 million facility to part-finance the management buy-out of Oryx Energies SA (OESA), the holding company of Addax Energy SA.
The deal puts the company under majority African ownership for the first time. Oryx Energies is one of Africa’s largest and longest-established independent energy providers. Afreximbank acted as sole lender, facility agent, security trustee and escrow agent on the transaction.
Mr. Moussa Diao, CEO of Oryx Energies SA, said, “This management buy-out marks an important milestone in the history of Oryx Energies and the continuation of a journey that our management team has been part of for many years. It also reflects the strength of experienced African leadership and its ability to guide established businesses towards new opportunities. It provides an opportunity to build on the strong foundations of the business, drawing on our longstanding experience and deep understanding of African energy markets. Our ambition remains to strengthen our activities in energy trading and infrastructure development across Africa.”
Oryx Energies supplies, stores and distributes fuels, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and lubricants to consumers, businesses and maritime operators. It also offers a bunkering service. The company has operated for over 35 years and serves more than twenty countries.
Afreximbank says the deal will help Africa keep more economic value on the continent and move towards energy sovereignty. It also follows the bank’s earlier support for the energy sector, including investments in upstream production and refining capacity.
The management buy-out was led by Oryx Energies CEO Moussa Diao, who said the deal would not have happened without Afreximbank’s backing. He added that African financial institutions are playing a growing role in supporting established African businesses.
“This transaction advances Afreximbank’s mandate to drive the structural transformation of African economies. Through the Management Buy-Out of Oryx Energies SA’s trading and distribution business, we have secured a strategic platform to deepen Africa’s energy industrial ecosystem, strengthen energy infrastructure and capture more value from the continent’s abundant natural resources. It will also promote greater African ownership and participation in development by empowering local entrepreneurs, expanding local value creation, building capacity, creating jobs and retaining more economic value on the continent,” said Dr George Elombi, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank.
Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution that finances and promotes trade within Africa and with the rest of the world. It is headquartered in Cairo and has operated for over 30 years.
At the end of December 2025, its total assets and contingencies stood at over $48.5 billion, and its shareholder funds were $8.4 billion. The group also includes the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), its equity impact fund, and AfrexInsure, its insurance management arm.
Recently, The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) have formally set up the Africa Energy Bank (AEB). It will operate as an independent, supranational pan-African financial institution. It will look for investment from governments, national oil companies, financial institutions and private investors.
