KEY POINTS
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Ellah Lakes plans a $163 million public offer to fund farmland expansion.
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The company diversifies into cassava and piggery to increase revenue.
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Acquisition of ARPN strengthens Ellah Lakes’ operational and financial scale.
In order to finance an ambitious expansion across more than 30,000 hectares of farmland encompassing Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo states, Ellah Lakes Plc, an integrated agro-industrial business led by Nigerian executive Chuka Mordi, revealed plans to raise N235 billion ($163.4 million) through a public offer.
Ellah lakes expansion strategy
The action demonstrates the company’s intention to solidify its standing as one of West Africa’s top indigenous agribusinesses.
The capital raise, according to Mordi, is a critical milestone in the company’s growth strategy and long-term value generation for shareholders. He made this statement during a conference in Lagos. “This capital raise of N235 billion is a clear declaration of intent,” Mordi stated. We are dedicated to providing our shareholders with long-term value development, market resiliency, and economies of scale. Ellah Lakes will establish itself as the unchallenged preeminent indigenous agro-industrial powerhouse in West Africa by efficiently allocating this cash and carrying out our plan.
Ellah lakes capital raise details
Over the last five years, Ellah Lakes, which was founded in 1980 and has its headquarters in Benin City, has seen substantial change. After a strategic takeover by Telluria Limited, a company co-led by Mordi, in 2019, the company, which had previously concentrated on fish farming, moved to large-scale crop cultivation, especially oil palm. Ellah Lakes has since reinforced its integrated agriculture focus and undergone financial reorganization.
According to Billionaires Africa, the business has previously obtained money through a number of methods, such as a debt-to-equity conversion in 2024 and a rights issue in 2023 for N2.9 billion ($2.01 million). These programs stabilized the balance sheet and provided funding for vital infrastructure, such as a crude palm oil mill that can produce six tons per hour. The planned $163.4 million equity offering will fund acquisitions, technology advancements, increased local processing capacity, and additional growth.
To increase cash streams, Ellah Lakes has expanded into piggery and cassava farming. The strategic acquisition of Agro-Allied Resources & Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN) in 2024 was cited by Deputy Managing Director Paul Farrer as a significant achievement. “As we expand our presence in Nigeria’s agribusiness industry, this acquisition was a significant milestone for Ellah Lakes,” Farrer stated. Our goal of vertical integration and sustainable expansion is ideally aligned with ARPN’s strong land bank and operational assets. It provides financial and operational scale right now.
Ellah Lakes is one of the few agribusinesses in Nigeria that can combine local knowledge, financial restraint, and industrial-scale capacity to meet the growing demand for food and commodities throughout West Africa thanks to its diversified operations, strengthened asset base, and clear strategic direction.
