Reserve Bank to list African Bank after investors’ offers disappoint
The Bank said it concluded that none of the investors interested in African Bank would be suitable to acquire its 50% stake in the lender
The SA Reserve Bank (SARB) says it is planning to list African Bank rather than sell it directly to investors after expressions of interest from prospective buyers were deemed unsatisfactory.
The SARB, which owns 50% of African Bank, had appointed corporate financiers including Rothschild, Bank of America and Moshe Capital, to advise it on a planned two-phase process that would allow it to exit its stake either through a sale to investors or via a possible listing. It had raised concerns about its so-called triple conflict of interest in African Bank given that it is the largest shareholder, the regulator and the lender of last resort to the bank, which was placed under curatorship in 2014 after its predecessor almost collapsed. ..
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