Addax & Oryx Picks ECP to Bid for Geneva Trading, Africa Units

Addax & Oryx Group Ltd. granted an exclusivity agreement to Emerging Capital Partners LLC for the sale of its supply, storage and distribution business division.

The division includes the Geneva-based Addax trading unit and the Oryx downstream oil and gas businesses that’s present in 22 African countries. The agreement was made on Feb. 16, Karen Saddler, a spokeswoman for the firm, said in a phone interview today. She declined to give details on the size of the business.

Addax & Oryx was founded in 1987 by Jean Claude Gandur and currently employs about 800 people. Gandur was raised in Egypt before becoming a Swiss citizen and serving as a diplomatic representative for African countries. His company sold Addax Petroleum to China’s Sinopec Group in 2009.

The upstream Oryx petroleum business, a separate bioenergy division and real-estate investments remain part of the privately-held company’s portfolio.

ECP is a Washington-based private equity group that focuses on investing in Africa.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net