Beninese-Gabonese oil mogul Samuel Dossou-Aworet buys Aradel shares worth $221 million

Beninese-Gabonese oil investor Samuel Dossou-Aworet has deepened his position in Nigeria’s energy sector with a fresh acquisition of shares in Aradel Holdings Plc valued at $221 million, further tightening his hold on one of the country’s fast-expanding integrated oil and gas groups.

Regulatory filings show that Dossou-Aworet acquired 171,793,774 ordinary shares in Aradel Holdings through his investment vehicle Petrolin Trading Limited. The transaction, valued at N300.6 billion ($221 million), represents a 3.95 percent stake in the company and adds another layer to an already significant holding in the Lagos-based energy producer.

Samuel Dossou-Aworet’s Aradel stake rises to 12.26 percent

The latest purchase builds on his earlier position of 360,899,945 shares, equivalent to an 8.31 percent stake, held through Petrolin Ocean Limited. Combined, his total interest in Aradel now stands at 532,693,719 shares, representing a 12.26 percent stake valued at N932.2 billion ($685.4 million). The enlarged position makes him the largest individual shareholder in Aradel, underscoring the scale of his commitment to Nigeria’s upstream and downstream oil business.

Dossou-Aworet’s growing stake in Aradel sits within a wider portfolio of energy investments that spans West Africa’s listed oil majors. He holds a 13.5 percent stake in Seplat Energy, totaling 81,015,319 shares in the dual-listed Lagos and London company, alongside a 16.8 percent interest in Tullow Oil, amounting to 243,635,633 shares. Together, these holdings place him across multiple layers of the region’s oil production and exploration value chain, with exposure that extends through corporate governance and board-level decisions.

Through Petrolin, Dossou-Aworet builds a broad African energy portfolio

Born in Porto-Novo, raised in Ivory Coast, and educated in Dakar and Paris, Dossou-Aworet founded Petrolin Group and has been active in Africa’s oil and gas sector since 1992. Over more than three decades, he has built a portfolio of investments in energy producers listed in Lagos and London, positioning himself as a long-term participant in the continent’s hydrocarbons industry through structured investment vehicles.

His latest expansion in Aradel comes during a year of strong financial performance for the energy giant. Aradel reported a profit after tax of N757.3 billion ($555.7 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025, a 192 percent increase from N259.1 billion ($190.1 million) in the previous year. The growth was supported by higher revenue and gains linked to business combinations, including the consolidation of its increased stake in ND Western Limited and a larger effective interest in Renaissance Africa Energy, where the group now holds a 53.3 percent stake.

Its balance sheet also expanded during the period. Total assets rose to N9.9 trillion ($7.26 billion) from N1.75 trillion ($1.28 billion) a year earlier, reflecting the impact of acquisitions. Total equity climbed to N2.15 trillion ($1.57 billion), while cash and cash equivalents increased to N1.5 trillion ($1.1 billion), supported by inflows tied to investing activities. Net cash from operating activities declined 42 percent to N179.7 billion ($131.9 million).