Barclays divorce terms still unclear
BGA has not yet announced how many shares will be involved in the empowerment scheme
The tussle for control of Barclays Africa Group (BGA) has cooled down, with the pan-African banker announcing its UK parent, Barclays, had agreed to an empowerment deal as part of its separation agreement. Parties such as Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj, which manages about US$10bn in assets, and a consortium led by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond have been quiet since BGA said it had agreed on the terms of separation with its parent — a crucial step for Barclays to get regulatory approval to sell its interest below the 50% level. Barclays, which holds 50.1% of BGA, announced the key terms of the R12.8bn separation agreement two weeks ago. This includes an empowerment deal with as yet unnamed parties, to which Barclays will contribute R2.1bn. BGA is yet to announce how many shares will be made available to the black public, saying the empowerment scheme is still being planned out. But Absa, which Barclays bought and merged with some of its African operations to form BGA in 2...
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