Last checked at 
* Raised $300 million from share placement
* Acquisitions were completed last week
* Shares to recommence trading on Wednesday
By Matt Scuffham and Steve Slater
LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Atlas Mara, theinvestment vehicle of former Barclays boss Bob Diamondthat is aiming to be Africa's leading bank, will re-list onWednesday after raising $300 million and completing a pair ofacquisitions.
Atlas Mara said last week that it had closed deals topurchase BancABC and ADC African Development Corporation andwould apply for the re-admission of its shares, which weresuspended when the deals were announced in April.
It said on Tuesday that trading in the shares on the LondonStock Exchange would restart on Wednesday at 0700 GMT.
Diamond teamed up with Africa-based entrepreneur AshishThakkar last year to set up Atlas Mara, a vehicle through whichthey planned to buy up assets to help build it into a powerfulforce in African banking.
Atlas Mara last week said it had raised $300 million from aprivate share placement to fund the acquisitions, on top of the$325 million from its initial public offering (IPO) in December.
It agreed to buy BancABC in March to give it a platform inseveral countries including Botswana, Mozambique and Tanzania.
Atlas Mara shares were suspended after its purchase ofBancABC was treated as a reverse takeover. The company shouldhave a market value of near $800 million when it re-lists. Theshares last traded at $11.40, up from their December IPO priceof $10.
American Diamond, 62, is one of the world's best-knownbankers after spearheading the growth of Barclays' investmentbank before being forced out from his job as CEO in 2012 by UKregulators after the bank was fined for attempted rigging ofLibor interest rates.
His plans in Africa could put him in direct competition withBarclays, which has had a presence there since 1925 and is oneof the biggest international banks on the continent.
Barclays Chief Executive Antony Jenkins is under pressure toimprove profitability and has pinpointed Africa as one of thekey areas for future growth.
The prize both are chasing is sub-Saharan Africa's mostlyunbanked 1 billion population and the companies there lookingfor capital to grow, to take advantage of economies growing onaverage at 5-7 percent a year.
(Editing by Pravin Char)
