Share

Barclays ex-boss makes offer for Zim bank

Harare - Former Barclays Plc chief executive officer Robert Diamond has proposed to acquire ABC Holdings Limited (ABC) through his company Atlas Mara Co-Nvest Ltd.

ABC is listed on both the Botswana and the Zimbabwe stock exchanges.

ABC has the bulk of its operations in Zimbabwe but also has operations in Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.

“I am delighted that we will be merging with such high quality organisations as BancABC and ADC,” Diamond said in the statement on Monday.

“Our objective is to build Africa’s premier financial services group leveraging the access to capital, liquidity and funding that we at Atlas Mara can provide."

In a statement released in most papers in Zimbabwe, ABC advised shareholders that Atlas Mara Co-Nvest Limited (Atlas Mara) has entered into conditional purchase agreements with selected shareholders of ABC Holdings Limited (ABCH) to acquire, for cash or shares, ABCH shares representing 50.1% of the total shares issued at a price of 82 cents per share or the equivalent in Atlas Mara shares.

Furthermore, Atlas Mara has entered into a “business combination agreement” with African Development Corporation (ADC) wherein Atlas Mara has stated its intention to, directly or through a subsidiary, make a public share-for-share takeover offer for all outstanding shares of ADC.

If successful, Atlas Mara will effectively control a further 37% of the company currently held by ADC. Atlas Mara has also entered into a “cooperation agreement” with ABCH whereby Atlas Mara has stated its intention to, subject to the completion of the conditional purchase agreements, make a mandatory public offer for all remaining outstanding shares of ABCH (about 12%) for cash and/or Atlas Mara shares, at a price of 82c/share (or the Atlas Mara share equivalent).

The completion of the transactions will in particular be conditional upon regulatory and government approvals where required, and in the case of the conditional purchase agreements, with selected ABCH shareholders and consent of ADC.

In the case of the mandatory offer for the outstanding shares in ABCH, relevant approvals and conditions will be detailed in an offer document to be circulated to ABCH shareholders.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.43
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
910.50
+1.5%
Palladium
1,011.50
+1.0%
Gold
2,221.35
+1.2%
Silver
24.87
+0.9%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.8%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.8%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders