Standoff between shareholders in IBC

Deficit, International Business Corporation (IBC), the Cameroonian specialist of industrial metals is at the heart of a standoff between its founder Léopold Ekwa Ngallé and the national hydrocarbons Corporation, headed by Adolphe Moudiki.

There is on one hand, the powerful national society of hydrocarbons (SNH), which manages the interests of the Cameroonian State in the oil sector, led by Adolphe Moudiki. And on the other hand, Léopold Ekwa Ngallé owner of LEN holding investment.

Since late April, both parties are waging a ruthless war for the control of International Business Corporation (IBC), Cameroonian specialist of industrial metals and steels created in 1993 by Ekwa Ngallé and fellow inmate with 61% by the SNH since 2007.

The only company in Central Africa to possess, since 2010, a processing plant - an investment of 4.8 billion CFA (€7.3 million) mainly financed by the SNH-, the company had intended to radiate throughout the sub-region.

IBC never reached that goal, and his factory has never shot at full throttle.

The loss-making company has seen its situation deteriorate over the past three years, so that leaders had to stop the activity of the factory and put more than 150 people unemployed.

At the end of 2012, IBC cumulative losses amounted to 2.7 billion CFAF.

Léopold Ekwa Ngallé’s explanations: "It was necessary to constitute a significant working capital fund and buy enough material first to begin production.

" We turned to the SNH so that it produces a letter of comfort from the banks, to no avail." Wrong, counters are on the side of the majority shareholder: "We have made advances of billions of CFAF and produces outstanding letters of guarantee without knowing what this money was used."

The result of it was that the SNH decided to take things in its hand. On 28 April, it named a new president of the Board of Directors, Bernard Bayiha, then, one month later, a Director General, Antoine Bikoro Alo'o, thus ousting Léopold Ekwa Ngallé from his seat as CEO.

Feeling the blow coming, the boss of LEN Holding had seized July 2012 the common Court of justice and arbitration of the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa, in Abidjan.

On 15 January, the arbitral tribunal found him wrong and ordered him to pay more than 2.2 billion CFAF at SNH, a decision against which he filed an appeal. Meanwhile, the Board of Directors proposed an increase in capital of 4 billion CFA.