ZAMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Emmanuel Manda, Simon Kapampa, Innocent Mung’omba and Kaluwe Libeleki, Musa Dudhia & Co.
Musa Dudhia & Co. 2nd Floor, ALN House, Mushemi Road, Rhodespark,
Lusaka, Zambia PO Box 31198
Tel: +260 211 2538222/62/66 Email: info@musadudhia.co.zm Web: aln.africa
1. Trends 1.1 M&A Market
stimulate further investment in Zambia’s energy sector; • public–private partnerships (PPPs) and joint ven - tures (JVs) with government entities have become more common, particularly for infrastructure and large-scale projects, such as the revitalisation of the Tazara Railway and the Indeni Oil Refinery, which have been done as a PPP and a JV, respec - tively; and • increased investment interest in Zambia across a broad range of sectors – including mining, infra - structure and agriculture – particularly from inves - tors in the Middle East and the Far East. 1.3 Key Industries We witnessed significant M&A activity in the mining sector, the agricultural sector and the energy sector. 2. Overview of Regulatory Field 2.1 Acquiring a Company The primary legal means for acquiring a company in Zambia include: • acquisition of an interest in the company through a share transfer; • acquisition of an interest in the company through an issuance/allotment of shares; and • acquisition of the assets of the company. 2.2 Primary Regulators The primary regulators for M&A activities in Zambia are:
The Zambian M&A market is currently more active than it was 12 months ago, with a noticeable increase in deal activity, particularly in the mining and energy sec - tors. The increase in M&A deal activity can be attrib - uted to, inter alia, renewed investor confidence and strong global demand for critical minerals, position - ing Zambia as a key destination for resource-focused investment and disposals by outgoing shareholders in other transactions. Following Zambia’s positive strides in restructuring its national debt, the Zambian economy is projected to continue on its growth trajec - tory, thereby triggering a surge in M&A activity. 1.2 Key Trends In the last 12 months, top M&A trends have included the following: • acquirers have increasingly opted for more rigorous due diligence processes to identify potential risks in target companies; • sellers have shown a growing willingness to pursue auction-driven M&A processes involving multiple bidders and set out process timelines; • the energy crisis in Zambia has reshaped the struc - turing of M&A transactions, with the development of captive power plants or the securing of energy supply increasingly forming part of deal arrange - ments. This has, in turn, extended transaction timelines. At the same time, the crisis has created new opportunities in Zambia’s energy sector, par - ticularly following the recent introduction of open access to the national grid, which is expected to
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