Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited and Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited led dominantly at the Investment Banking Awards Dinner held in Lagos recently by the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN).
Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited won the Best Public Sector Debt Issuance House 2023, Best Commercial Paper House 2023, Best Corporate Bond House 2023, Best DCM House 2023, Best Equity Deal of 2023 and Best Investment Bank 2023.
Also, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited won the Best Equity House 2023, Best M&A Deal of 2023, and Best M&A House 2023.
In her remarks at the ceremony, the President of AIHN, Kemi Awodein said the award is meant to celebrate the achievements of investment bankers in Nigeria and motivate them to do more in the coming year.
Awodein explained that the several successful transactions facilitated within the year, including Heineken’s $24bn acquisition of a controlling stake in Nigerian Breweries and Sahara Group’s $1bn purchase of Egbin Power, showed the strength and resilience of the investment banking market and the economy.
“The prominent transactions include Seplat Energy’s $650m bond issuance, aimed at expanding its energy operations, and Airtel Africa’s $500m capital raise, which was used to enhance telecommunications infrastructure. These initiatives were made more feasible by the improved economic environment following the reforms,” the AIHN president said.
She said: “So, I think this event, celebrates investment banking sector as a whole, and further celebrates people who have worked hard and executed large ticket transactions. It is also an opportunity for us to appreciate our clients who have given us the mandates that have led to us receiving and achieving those accolades.”
Awodein said that the awards were for 2023 transactions, adding that 2024 has been a busy year and is expected to bring about a lot more impactful and interesting transactions that could qualify for awards next year.
Speaking after receiving the awards, the Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun remarked the company works hard to ensure that the standard of work delivered on behalf of clients is consistent.
“But all of that said, I think we’re all very, very proud, first and foremost, to have had a good year, and you know, to be winners at this year’s award. I enjoyed the awards a lot more the prior year, because we won all nine awards. But sometimes you have to let some other people win some, and we have to go away and work harder. And I hope we have an even stronger year next year,” he said.