Friday, March 29, 2024 UTC

Recognized by industry leaders for extensive coverage on African Asset Management

News > Private Equity > Deals

National Bank, Amethis Finance buy stake in Cote d’Ivoire financial group NSIA

Anna Lyudvig
March 25, 2015, midnight
383

Word count: 390

National Bank of Canada and Amethis Finance have agreed to acquire a 26.3% equity stake of NSIA Participations, a financial group headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, with operations in 12 countries across West and Central Africa.

Choose ONE Magazine and TWO Articles for FREE when you register an account
Share:

National Bank of Canada and Amethis Finance have agreed to acquire a 26.3% equity stake of NSIA Participations, a financial group headquartered in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, with operations in 12 countries across West and Central Africa.

National Bank will have a 20.9% interest, while that of Amethis Finance will be 5.4%.

This deal should be concluded in the third quarter of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals.

Louis Vachon, President and CEO of National Bank, said: "NSIA has an impressive track record, thanks to the leadership of its founder, Jean Kacou Diagou, and its sound business vision."

"We are confident that the expertise of NSIA, combined with the skills and business network of Amethis Finance in Africa, will be a distinctive source of value creation for National Bank," he said.

The equity stake will be acquired from an international private equity firm ECP’s Africa Fund III.

ECP invested in NSIA in 2009, making a $47.7m investment through the purchase of common shares.

At the time of investment this was the firm’s largest investment in an African financial services firm.

NSIA is a major financial services group providing a wide range of banking and insurance products and services to individual and business clients.

NSIA is the leading insurance group in French-speaking Africa and the third largest banking institution in the Ivory Coast.

Jean Kacou Diagou, President of NSIA, said: "We are very pleased to partner with National Bank of Canada, and we are fully supportive of its development project for Africa, its financial strength and ethical and governance requirements.”

“This partnership is a long-term alliance intended to create value for both of our institutions as well as promote economic development in Africa. The participation of Amethis Finance, an investment vehicle specialized in Africa, is an additional asset for NSIA," he said.

This investment is aligned with National Bank's strategy of expanding its international presence through targeted equity acquisitions.

This is the second deal in Africa for the Canada’s sixth-largest lender.

In December, the Bank acquired 9.5% interest in Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank for $14m.

Vachon said that West and Central Africa remain under-served in terms of financial services and have strong growth potential, with a population of more than 490 million people.

“In addition to having a large pool of companies with whom Canada can strengthen business ties, the region is predominantly French speaking, which gives National Bank a competitive advantage,” he said.

Registration Login
Sign in with social account
or
Lost your Password?
Registration Login
Sign in with social account
or
Registration Login
Registration