Nigeria retained its position as one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading investment banking markets in 2025, ranking second in total fee generation, even as deal activity showed mixed signals across asset classes.
According to the Sub-Saharan Africa Investment Banking Review Full Year 2025 published by LSEG Data & Analytics, the country recorded growth in overall fee income, supported largely by strong activity in the debt market. However, mergers and acquisitions and equity issuance reflected a softer environment during the year.
Across the region, total investment banking fees reached $503.9m in 2025, marking a 13.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year. South Africa maintained a dominant lead, accounting for 51.5 per cent of total regional fees, while Nigeria followed with 19.4 per cent. Ivory Coast ranked third with 6.9 per cent.
“An estimated $503.9m worth of investment banking fees were generated in Sub-Saharan Africa during 2025, representing a 13.1 per cent increase from the prior year. South Africa accounted for 51.5 per cent of all Sub-Saharan African fees in 2025, followed by Nigeria (19.4 per cent) and the Ivory Coast (6.9 per cent). Investment banking fees in Nigeria reached $97.9m for the year, which marks an eight per cent increase compared to 2023. This growth contributed to Nigeria’s position as a top-three fee-earner alongside South Africa and Ivory Coast,” indicated part of the report.
While the broader region saw equity and equity-related issuance surge to $5.5bn — up 58 per cent year-on-year and the highest level in eight years — Nigeria experienced a decline in equity issuance. Proceeds from Nigerian equity deals totalled $690.9m, representing a 27 per cent drop from the previous year.
Despite the decline, Nigerian companies featured in some of the region’s largest transactions. Presco Plc completed a $163.7m follow-on offering in December, while United Bank for Africa Plc raised more than $255m through two separate follow-on offerings in April and September.
Mergers and acquisitions activity involving Nigerian entities saw a sharper contraction. Although total announced M&A transactions across Sub-Saharan Africa reached $37.2bn, up 0.8 per cent year-on-year, deal value linked to Nigeria fell by 76 per cent to $1.3bn. Even so, Nigeria remained the fourth most targeted country in the region for M&A activity.
In contrast, local advisory firms made notable gains in regional rankings. United Capital Plc climbed into tenth position in the regional Equity Capital Markets bookrunner table, posting $84.3m in proceeds — a 678 per cent increase from 2024. CardinalStone Partners Ltd also secured eleventh place, joining a competitive field dominated by major global investment banks.
