Bob Diamond, the former boss of Barclays, has expanded his interests in Africa after his Atlas Mara venture increased its stake in Union Bank of Nigeria in a $270 million deal.
He launched Atlas Mara with Ashish Thakkar, Africa’s youngest billionaire. The company said yesterday that it had exercised an option to increase its stake in the Nigerian bank from about 9 per cent to nearly 30 per cent. The investment vehicle purchased the stake from Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.
Mr Diamond, who left Barclays after the Libor-rigging scandal, said: “This is a very significant acquisition for Atlas Mara. With it, we will have a significant stake in a key Nigerian bank and will have established strategic market positions in three of Africa’s leading economic communities.”
Atlas Mara was set up to take advantage of Africa’s “strong growth profile” and in December raised $325 million, at first through an initial public offering in London. Atlas Mara said at the time of the float: “There are significant gaps in African markets, including the need for capital created by European financial institutions retreating to their home territories at a critical time for growth.”
Although it failed to meet its $400 million investment target in a second fundraising in June, it has raised $825 million in debt and equity capital and carried out a number of deals, first buying BancABC, a lender with operations in Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, in March for $265 million in cash and shares.
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It also plans to buy a 77 per cent stake in the Development Bank of Rwanda when it is privatised.
Atlas Mara said it increased its stake in Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) as it wanted to transform it into a “Tier 1” Nigerian bank. UBN is publicly traded with all its operations in Nigeria and a history that can be traced back to 1917. It is a household name in Nigeria with 340 branches across the country and about $6.3 billion of assets.