LONDON (Alliance News) - Bob Diamond, the former chief executive of Barclays PLC, would "recuse" himself from talks in the event his London-listed African banking company Atlas Mara Ltd moves ahead with a plan to combine with his former employer's African arm.
In a statement Tuesday, Atlas Mara confirmed it had talks with a group of investors exploring an acquisition of Barclays' 62% stake in Barclays Africa. The talks also covered a potential combination of Atlas Mara with those Barclays assets.
Members of the investor group include Atlas Merchant Capital, founded by Bob Diamond, and the Mara Group, founded by Ashish Thakkar. Both Diamond and Thakkar are founders and non-executive directors of Atlas Mara.
"In the event that the consortium reaches a definitive agreement with Barclays in relation to Barclays Africa, it is expected that Atlas Mara will enter into substantive discussions about the potential combination with the consortium," Atlas Mara said in a statement.
"To the extent that such discussions result in a proposal being made to the company by the consortium necessitating review by the board of directors of Atlas Mara, Mr Diamond and Mr Thakkar will recuse themselves from such discussions. Mr Diamond and Mr Thakkar remain wholly committed to the company and the execution of its strategy," Atlas Mara said.
The decision follows advice given to Atlas Mara's board by external legal counsel with respect to "various corporate governance matters".
There can be "no assurance" of the completion of the transactions, Atlas Mara said, citing the "significant complexity" and "early stage" of the discussions with the investor group.
Jes Staley, who became chief executive of Barclays in December, said in March that he plans to sell down the bank's 62% stake in Johannesburg-listed Barclays Africa Group.
Staley, who is aiming reduce the stake to below 20% over the next two to three years, has said Barclays shareholders might as well take direct ownership in the African business because capital requirements mean they are punished for owning shares indirectly through Barclays due to the weight on returns.
By Samuel Agini; samagini@alliancenews.com; @samuelagini
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