Biography: Oil and Gas

Folake Elias-Adebowale is a partner in the firm's energy and natural resources teams and co-heads its corporate advisory team. Her specialisations include private equity, project finance for energy, gas and industrial projects, foreign investment, equity and asset acquisitions, corporate restructuring, commercial transactions and employment matters.

She advises a variety of local and international lenders, development finance institutions and top tier investors on a diverse range of transactions and legal issues pertinent to parties operating in key economic sectors in Nigeria and its export processing zones, including the oil, gas, electric power, food and beverage, telecommunications, construction and manufacturing sectors. She also advises various investors and operators in the petroleum sector, including one of the largest extractors of natural gas, in relation to various oil and gas projects and marginal field investments.

Mrs Adebowale is part of the team that advised African Development Bank in connection with the US$100 million Line of Credit given to Guarantee Trust Bank by African Development Bank for the financing of a project that involves on lending to several eligible sub-projects that contribute to economic growth in Africa. She also advised SABMiller Africa in connection with its investment of over US$100 million in a new 500,000 hectolitre-capacity Greenfield brewery with water and other beverage- bottling capabilities in Onitsha, Nigeria, together with the Anambra State Government and other Nigerian investors.

She was also part of the team that advised Capital Alliance Private Equity III Limited in connection with its equity investment of US$16,780,000 in an indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company in Nigeria, and the proposed redemption of a preference share investment by Capital Alliance Private Equity Limited and other preference shareholders in Accat Nigeria Limited, a Nigerian telecommunication services provider on the investment by Kratos Infratel in Accat Nigeria Limited and is part of the team currently advising the African Capital Alliance Consortium in connection with its proposed acquisition (estimated value of $750 million) of a controlling stake in Union Bank PLC, one of Nigeria's oldest listed banks.

She advised the debt providers in what was described as the largest ever non-petroleum syndicated debt facility deal in Africa in 2007 on local legal issues. She also provided transactional advice on the financing of various projects including a greenfield cement plant which was awarded the 2006 Euromoney Deal of the Year Award, a steel fabrication plant, a regional independent power project and the largest indigenous operator in the petroleum sector. She was a member of the team that assisted with the review of the downstream gas sector and the preparation of draft legislation for that sector. She advises petroleum sector operators on restructuring and compliance issues in the context of Nigerian content legislation.

She has presented papers on foreign investment in Nigeria and conducted seminars on employment and labour matters. She is a contributor to the International Law Office's Energy and Natural Resources Newsletter and sits on the board of several companies. She is also commended in Chambers Global 2011 for her corporate/commercial work. She is UUBO's representative on the EMPEA's legal and regulatory council.

Biography: Project Finance

Folake Elias-Adebowale is a partner in the firm's energy and natural resources teams and co-heads its corporate advisory team. Her specialisations include private equity, project finance for energy, gas and industrial projects, foreign investment, equity and asset acquisitions, corporate restructuring, commercial transactions and employment matters.

She advises a variety of local and international lenders, development finance institutions and top tier investors on a diverse range of transactions and legal issues pertinent to parties operating in key economic sectors in Nigeria and its export processing zones, including the oil, gas, electric power, food and beverage, telecommunications, construction and manufacturing sectors. She also advises various investors and operators in the petroleum sector, including one of the largest extractors of natural gas, in relation to various oil and gas projects and marginal field investments.

Mrs Adebowale is part of the team that advised African Development Bank in connection with the US$100 million Line of Credit given to Guarantee Trust Bank by African Development Bank for the financing of a project that involves on lending to several eligible sub-projects that contribute to economic growth in Africa. She also advised SABMiller Africa in connection with its investment of over US$100 million in a new 500,000 hectolitre-capacity Greenfield brewery with water and other beverage- bottling capabilities in Onitsha, Nigeria, together with the Anambra State Government and other Nigerian investors.

She was also part of the team that advised Capital Alliance Private Equity III Limited in connection with its equity investment of US$16,780,000 in an indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company in Nigeria, and the proposed redemption of a preference share investment by Capital Alliance Private Equity Limited and other preference shareholders in Accat Nigeria Limited, a Nigerian telecommunication services provider on the investment by Kratos Infratel in Accat Nigeria Limited and is part of the team currently advising the African Capital Alliance Consortium in connection with its proposed acquisition (estimated value of $750 million) of a controlling stake in Union Bank PLC, one of Nigeria's oldest listed banks.

She advised the debt providers in what was described as the largest ever non-petroleum syndicated debt facility deal in Africa in 2007 on local legal issues. She also provided transactional advice on the financing of various projects including a greenfield cement plant which was awarded the 2006 Euromoney Deal of the Year Award, a steel fabrication plant, a regional independent power project and the largest indigenous operator in the petroleum sector. She was a member of the team that assisted with the review of the downstream gas sector and the preparation of draft legislation for that sector. She advises petroleum sector operators on restructuring and compliance issues in the context of Nigerian content legislation.

She has presented papers on foreign investment in Nigeria and conducted seminars on employment and labour matters. She is a contributor to the International Law Office's Energy and Natural Resources Newsletter and sits on the board of several companies. She is also commended in Chambers Global 2011 for her corporate/commercial work. She is UUBO's representative on the EMPEA's legal and regulatory council.