AFRICA BANKING GROUP
Delisting on the cards for Atlas Mara
The pan-African bank holding company's momentum stalled following a series of bank buy-outs and a falling share price in London
Pan-African bank holding company Atlas Mara’s momentum has stalled after a series of bank buy-outs, leading co-founder Bob Diamond to consider a delisting after its share price plunged in London over the past few months. Their combined interest, held through investment manager Wellington Management Group, fell to less than 10% to 6.9-million shares. The Bloomberg newswire reported Atlas Mara insiders as saying Diamond was considering delisting and might be looking for an investor or private-equity firm to back him. A spokesman for Atlas Mara declined to comment. He also would not comment on the progress of its cost-cutting initiatives, aimed at $8m cost savings per year. Atlas Mara announced the cost cutting when it presented its half-year results for the period to June 2016 during which its banking profit more than halved to $9.2m. Analysts covering the group say that while the cost-cutting initiative is positive, it is " largely immaterial to the investment thesis at this juncture...
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