Barclays’ former chief executive is approaching investors to back a takeover bid for a significant part of the bank’s African empire that he helped to build.
Bob Diamond’s move comes after Barclays confirmed plans this week to sell its African operations, which date back almost a century.
Mr Diamond has held early talks with global investors whom he hopes will put hundreds of millions of dollars into a deal to buy the bank’s operations outside of South Africa, according to the Financial Times.
The deal would mark a comeback for Mr Diamond, who created Atlas Mara as a London-listed vehicle to invest in African banks after being ousted from Barclays four years ago amid the Libor rate-rigging scandal.
Mr Diamond would be unable to buy the whole business, but is highly likely to want some of it and could potentially raise money from investors. He also knows the business well, as does Atlas Mara’s chief executive, John Vitalo, who used to run Barclays in the Middle East and north Africa.
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Atlas Mara has a market capitalisation of £230 million which is dwarfed by the £1.5 billion that Barclays’ operations outside of South Africa are expected to be worth.
However, it is understood that the former Barclays boss has discussed his move with potential investors and that sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia are seen as the most likely sources of funding.
Barclays Africa generates only about 20 per cent of its profits from its operations outside of South Africa. That proportion comes from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Mauritius and Zambia.
A spokesman for Mr Diamond said last night: “We cannot comment on speculation.”