Bacita Sugar Exits Receivership as KIA Secures Fresh Investor Backing for Revival

Company set for industrial revival as KIA, Keystone Bank resolve dispute James Emejo in Abuja Bacita Sugar Company Limited, yesterday announced it has exited receivership following an amicable resolution of outstanding financing and redevelopment issues between its shareholders and Keystone Bank. The development paves the way for the company to resume its planned transformation into a major sugar and agro-industrial hub. KIA Africa Group, the company’s investment and operating partner, announced in a statement signed by Wale Suleiman for management, that full ownership and operational control of Bacita had been restored to the company and its shareholders after a conciliation process involving the relevant stakeholders. The resolution, according to KIA, has cleared the way for the company to shift its attention from the dispute to the redevelopment of the long-dormant sugar estate, with institutional investors already providing fresh capital to support the turnaround. KIA said the resolution with Keystone Bank reflected the shared interest of both parties in preserving Bacita and restoring its productive capacity, while protecting the interests of employees, creditors, investors, host communities and other stakeholders. With the ownership and operational issues now resolved, the group said it had secured the backing of a leading institutional investor whose initial capital injection had enabled the company to achieve key financial milestones and strengthen the foundation for the next phase of the project. The fresh investment, it added, represented a vote of confidence in Bacita’s commercial prospects and its potential role in Nigeria’s sugar value chain. KIA Africa Group said its immediate priority would be to implement an ambitious transformation programme covering the modernisation of the sugar-processing facilities, rehabilitation of critical estate infrastructure and expansion of sugarcane cultivation. The programme would also involve the development of large-scale outgrower schemes, improvement of irrigation infrastructure and deployment of modern agricultural technologies to raise productivity across the estate and surrounding farming communities. According to the group, the planned investments are expected to substantially expand Bacita’s production capacity while generating thousands of direct and indirect jobs and stimulating economic activities within its host communities and across Kwara State. The revival is also expected to strengthen the country’s drive towards greater sugar self-sufficiency under the National Sugar Master Plan by increasing local production and developing a more integrated domestic sugar value chain. Beyond sugar, KIA said its long-term strategy was to develop Bacita into an integrated agro-industrial ecosystem that would include ethanol production, renewable energy projects, agricultural support services, logistics infrastructure and community development initiatives. The company said the broader vision was to ensure that the estate evolves beyond conventional sugar production into a diversified industrial platform capable of creating sustained economic value for its host communities and the wider Nigerian economy. KIA described the successful conclusion of the conciliation process as evidence of the value of constructive engagement in resolving complex commercial disputes, particularly where significant national assets and multiple stakeholder interests are involved. It expressed confidence that the resolution would provide renewed certainty for employees, business partners, investors, regulators and host communities as Bacita enters a new phase of development. The group also reaffirmed its commitment to working with Keystone Bank and other partners to unlock the economic and social potential of the sugar company. Bacita is regarded as one of the country’s significant agro-industrial assets and a historic component of the country’s sugar industry. Its proposed revival comes against the backdrop of renewed efforts to boost domestic agricultural processing, create rural employment and reduce reliance on imported food and industrial raw materials. KIA Africa Group, a diversified investment and operating group with interests in agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and industrial development across Africa, said its investment in Bacita was aimed at restoring the asset to productive use while creating sustainable long-term value for stakeholders. The development could mark a significant step in the revival of one of Nigeria’s oldest agro-industrial assets at a time the country is seeking to reduce its dependence on imported sugar and deepen domestic agricultural production.