LONDON (Alliance News) - African banking group Atlas Mara Ltd on Monday said it has struck a cash and shares deal to acquire Finance Bank of Zambia PLC.
Atlas Mara, which was co-founded by former Barclays PLC chief executive Bob Diamond, will pay USD60.0 million in cash and up to 2.6 million of its own shares to acquire the company. At the their price Monday morning, the share portion would be worth another USD15.6 million. Atlas Mara shares were trading flat at USD6.00.
Finance Bank of Zambia is the African country's sixth-largest bank, with around USD261.0 million in assets on its books at the end of June. It has 63 branches and more than 800 employees, Atlas Mara said.
"We are highly enthusiastic about Zambia's long-term prospects and our ability to play a leading role in the development of financial services there," said Atlas Mara Chief Executive John Vitalo.
"The acquisition of FBZ is another important step in the execution of Atlas Mara's strategy to build sub-Saharan Africa's premier financial institution, in part, by becoming a scale participant in our countries of operation, which this transaction will achieve for us in Zambia," Vitalo added.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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