The 2026 Shift: Recent Tax and Securities Legislation Impacting the Onshore Footprint of Offshore Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds

FCCPC fines Meta Platforms Inc & Whatsapp LLC $220 million

The FCCPC’s decision (the "Decision") to impose a $220,000,000 fine (the "Fine") on WhatsApp LLC ("WhatsApp") and Meta Platforms Inc. ("Meta") warrants an appellate review due to its unprecedented nature. This Decision affirms the powers of a competition regulator to investigate and penalize breaches of local data privacy regulations (the "NDPA/NDPR"), marking a significant development in Nigeria's data privacy jurisprudence.

August 13, 2024

Legal Updates

NERC Shifts Nigerian Electricity Market to Bilateral Trading

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) to stop entering into new contracts for purchasing and reselling electricity or ancillary services.

July 27, 2024

Legal Updates

A Primer on Hell or High Water Clauses in Aviation Leases

"Hell or high water clauses" are a standard fixture of aviation leases and it appears that courts will generally enforce "hell or high water clauses" in aviation leases, in the absence of extenuating factors. This legal update provides a primer on hell or high water clauses as relates to aviation leases under English Law.

May 23, 2024

Proposed New Rules on the Issuance and Allotment of Private Companies: Some Legal Considerations

The Securities & Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) is seeking to regulate debt issuances by private companies and has recently published a draft of the new ru...

May 14, 2024

Assessing Key Man Risk for Limited Partners in Africa-focused Private Equity Funds

Limited partners investing in Africa-focused private equity and venture capital funds are increasingly prioritising key man risk, as evidenced by several recent opinions we've issued on the topic. In one of those cases, a key man in a private fund departed to set up his own fund with a similar investment thesis. A dispute then arose as, to the extent to which the key man could legally leave the fund as well as establish a fund with a similar investment strategy.

May 13, 2024

Service-Based Electricity Tariffs in Nigeria: Key Considerations

The increase in the price of electricity tariffs payable by electricity customers in Band A, as notified in the 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order puts into sharp focus the legal framework around Service-Based Tariffs in Nigeria

April 17, 2024

Aircraft Financing in Nigeria: Some Key Legal Considerations

For a number of reasons, aircraft financing is one of the more complex forms of corporate financing. Where the airline borrower or lessee is operating in a developing country like Nigeria, another layer of intricacy emerges. In this update, we draw some key points from aircraft financing transactions, we have advised on for the benefit of lenders and promoters looking to close an airline financing transaction in Nigeria.

April 12, 2024

New Minimum Share Capital Requirements For Nigerian Banks: Some Legal Considerations for Bank Investors and Shareholders

New Minimum Share Capital : Policy & Regulatory Context The latest central banking policy decision facing commercial banks in Nigeria is a new poli...

April 1, 2024

New Minimum Share Capital Requirements for Nigerian Banks

As part of a new Banking Sector Recapitalization Program, Nigeria’s Central Bank has just announced an increase in the minimum share capital requirement of Nige...

March 30, 2024

Fiscal Incentives for Deepwater & Midstream Developments

Nigeria’s President recently announced a number of fiscal incentives and administrative changes aimed at improving the competitiveness of the oil and gas indust...

March 7, 2024

Fixing the Price of Cement in Nigeria: Some Key Competition Law Considerations

The recent announcement of an agreement between the Nigerian Government and cement manufacturers in Nigeria to peg the price of a 50kg bag of cement at between N7000 and N8000 (the “Pricing Mandate”) raises some important questions of competition law because price fixing is generally prohibited by Nigeria’s competition law

March 4, 2024

Policy Update

The Expatriate Employment Levy: New Rules for Sponsoring Foreign Skilled Workers in Nigeria

The latest policy of the Nigerian government impacting the sponsorship of skilled foreign workers for employment in Nigeria is a new annual expatriate employment levy of up to $15,000 payable by Nigerian companies for each skilled foreign worker (the “Levy”). This policy update attempts to rationalise the Levy for the benefit of foreign skilled workers and their Nigerian employers.

March 4, 2024

Case Reviews

Fintech Lender not Liable for Breach of Human Rights of Borrower

Fintech lenders in Nigeria frequently face legal action from their borrowers. Often, these borrowers, who have outstanding debts, initiate court proceedings to stall or avoid repayment altogether. One common claim made by borrowers is that a fintech lender has violated their constitutional rights by involving the Nigerian Police in the debt recovery process. In other cases, a borrower will allege that a fintech lender has violated his/her data privacy rights.

February 19, 2024

Policy Update

Nigeria's Carbon Market Activation Plan

Nigeria is making concerted efforts to grow its carbon market. This policy update highlights some of the recent policy developments in Nigeria's carbon market.

February 12, 2024

Policy Update

CBN Issues New Rules for International Money Transfer Firms

Nigeria's Central Bank ( the "CBN") is intensifying its efforts to safeguard the Naira from ongoing devaluation pressures. A key battleground in this mission is the international money transfer and remittance sector. This sector is particularly strategic compared to the foreign direct investments (FDI) markets because there is generally no requirement for repatriation of capital, as would be the case with FDI investments.

February 5, 2024

New Central Banking Regulations for Cryptocurrency Companies in Nigeria

In a new 2023 Regulation for the Operation of Virtual Asset Providers in Nigeria, issued by Nigeria’s Central Bank, Nigeria has effectively lifted a previous ban that prohibited local Nigerian banks from transacting with or providing business banking services to cryptocurrency companies and virtual asset service providers ("VASPs").

January 3, 2024

Explainer

Fintech Lenders: From Unsecured to Secured Lending

We have a theory. It's not original but it works: Fintechs and other lenders will significantly diminish loan losses as well as the risk of loan defaults if the...

November 23, 2023

Case Reviews

Why Has the UK Supreme Court Just Decided that Deliveroo Riders are not Employees?

A new decision of the UK Supreme Court (“UKSC”), delivered today, will have implications for the contractual relationship between tech platforms, gig workers and other key stakeholders.

November 21, 2023

Debt-for-Nature Swaps in Nigeria: Key Commercial Considerations

Especially for developing countries in Africa, debt-for-nature swaps are great tool for sovereigns to replace expensive debt and to put increasing sovereign deb...

November 19, 2023

Legal Updates

Infrastructure Funds: Key Protections for Investors in Nigeria

For global pension funds and institutional investors investing in Nigeria's infrastructure sector for the first time, investing in Nigeria through an infrastructure fund addresses some of the traditional risks associated with emerging/frontier markets and provides some level of risk management. This legal update outlines some key protections for infrastructure fund investors in Nigeria.

October 12, 2023