Barclays ex-boss eyes bid for Africa unit

London - Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond is teaming up with private equity group Carlyle to prepare a bid to buy the bank's African operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Diamond is looking to structure a deal to acquire Barclays' 62% stake in Barclays Africa Group Limited via his investment vehicle Atlas Merchant Capital, set up to invest in financial services after he left the UK-based bank.
Carlyle and Atlas Merchant declined to comment.

Barclays on March 1 said it would sell down its stake in the business, to focus instead on a new 'transatlantic' strategy. Sky News first reported the proposed deal on Sunday.