Image: Adoscam / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
The West African Development Bank's board approved 157.5bn FCFA of new operations on 24 September 2026, including 17.5bn FCFA for Yattassaye & Company Energy Invest to acquire depots, a petroleum wharf and service stations in Benin.
The board of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) approved new operations totalling 157.5 billion FCFA at its 152nd session in Lomé on 24 September 2026, Financial Afrik reported that day. The session was chaired by BOAD President Serge Ekué. Cumulative BOAD financing since 1973 has reached 10,991.6 billion FCFA.
An acquisition finance deal in Benin
The most notable item for deal lawyers is a 17.5 billion FCFA facility to Yattassaye & Company Energy Invest (YATT&CO) for acquisitions and equity participations in energy infrastructure in Benin. La Nouvelle Tribune reported (in “Bénin : la BOAD approuve 17,5 milliards pour le rachat d’actifs pétroliers par Yattassaye & Company”) that the transaction covers oil and gas storage depots, a petroleum wharf and a network of service stations. The seller was not named. According to Ouestaf, BOAD said the operation would strengthen the group’s West African presence while keeping capital and value added on the continent.
The rest of the package
According to Le Matinal, the board also approved: 45 billion FCFA for the third phase of an agricultural mechanisation and irrigation programme in Togo; 37 billion FCFA to Compel SA to add 170,000 cubic metres of petroleum storage in Togo; 30 billion FCFA for the first phase of the Safim-Jugudul road in Guinea-Bissau; 10 billion FCFA to Afric Cements for a cement plant in Ouagadougou’s Kossodo industrial zone; 8 billion FCFA to Sotraka SA in Mali for hydrocarbon imports; and a 10 billion FCFA refinancing line to Cofina in Côte d’Ivoire for SMEs, green projects and women entrepreneurs.
The board also validated “Djiguiya 2026-2028”, a 200 billion FCFA emergency programme on input and energy security. Ouestaf reported that it is supported by credit lines of 196 billion FCFA from the French Development Agency, 131 billion FCFA each from the African Development Bank and China Development Bank, and 65 billion FCFA from KfW.
Why it matters
Multilateral acquisition finance for a regional buyer of downstream petroleum assets is less common than project or sovereign lending, and it signals that WAEMU groups can look to BOAD to fund consolidation. For counsel, a deal of this kind involves security over storage and port-related assets, the transfer or renewal of Beninese downstream permits and any concession attached to the wharf, and possibly merger control review. The weight given to storage capacity and fuel imports across Togo, Mali and Benin also shows BOAD treating energy supply security as a lending priority, which may make its terms available to other storage and distribution projects.
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