Beta Glass replaces four board members after Helios takeover

Beta Glass Plc has reshaped its board of directors following the acquisition of its parent company by African private equity firm Helios Investment Partners, marking a leadership transition after the exit of long-time owner Frigoglass Group.

The Nigerian glass manufacturer said four directors — Emmanouil Metaxakis, Vassilis Kararizos, Serge Joris and Gagik Apkarian — have stepped down from the board, ending a period of oversight linked to Frigoglass, the Greece-headquartered refrigeration and packaging group that previously controlled the business.

The company thanked the departing directors for their “dedicated service and strategic guidance,” which it said helped support the company’s growth over recent years.

The exits follow the completion in February of a €100 million transaction in which Helios acquired Frigoinvest Nigeria Holdings B.V., the holding company that owned Frigoglass’ Nigerian packaging operations, including indirect stakes in Beta Glass.

The deal effectively transferred control of one of Nigeria’s most important industrial packaging companies to Helios Fund V, a private equity vehicle focused on investments across Africa.

New Directors

With the ownership transition now completed, Beta Glass has appointed four new directors aligned with its new shareholder.

They include Nitin Kaul, a partner at Helios Investment Partners responsible for portfolio operations, and Olusola Carrena, managing director for Nigeria on Helios’ investment team.

Kaul brings more than 25 years of global experience in strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructuring across developed and emerging markets.

Carrena, a chartered financial analyst, previously spent a decade at Stanbic IBTC Capital, where she served as executive director and head of corporate finance, overseeing transactions valued at more than $4 billion across sectors including oil and gas, infrastructure and consumer goods.

Beta Glass also named Bolaji Olatunbosun Osunsanya, a veteran executive with more than three decades of experience in energy and finance, to the board.

Osunsanya previously served as group chief executive of Axxela Ltd. and has held leadership roles at Oando PLC and Access Bank Plc.

The board changes come as Beta Glass enters a new phase under Helios, one of Africa’s largest private equity investors, which has backed companies across telecoms, financial services, energy and industrial sectors.

Beta Glass is the largest glass container manufacturer in West and Central Africa and a key supplier to Nigeria’s food and beverage industry, producing bottles and packaging used by brewers and consumer goods companies.

The company reported strong performance in 2025, more than doubling its net income as demand recovered and operational efficiency improved.

Helios said its investment aims to accelerate Beta Glass’s growth by supporting capital expenditure, operational improvements and product innovation as Nigeria seeks to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.

Beta Glass remains listed on the Nigerian Exchange, with shares held by public investors and the Delta State Ministry of Finance.