Beltone Financial Holding announced on Saturday that its board approved in principle launching a bid to acquire a significant interest in African banking and financial holding company Orabank, which has 143 branches serving over 400,000 clients in 12 African countries, mostly in western and central Africa
Orabank reported strong results in 2017 with net income up sharply by 45% to reach $40.1m.
In that context, Beltone intends to sign a non-binding offer to set out the indicative terms for a possible transaction.
Furthermore, it also intends to conduct a preliminary financial feasibility study for the transaction before commencing a comprehensive and non-exclusive due diligence process to reach an agreement with respect to the possible transaction and the execution of the relevant implementation agreements.
The move is part of Beltone’s plan to grow its investments and expand in the market of financial services on the African continent, according to the company’s press statement.
Basem Azab, managing director of Beltone Financial Holding, said the deal aims to diversify the company’s revenues and sources of income, as well as integrate banking and non-banking financial activities under one umbrella. Orabank operates in a number of African countries that are closely associated with Europe and have very strong growth rates, representing promising investment opportunities.
Azab said the final value of the deal will be determined after choosing an independent financial adviser and an international legal counsel to conduct the due diligence process.
Orabank’s capital reached 63.3bn West African CFA francs (about €100m), while the group’s total assets were estimated at around €2.735bn at the end of 2017. The bank operates in Togo—which hosts Orabank’s headquarters—Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senega,l and Chad.
Beltone Financial is a regional investment bank, offering a full range of financial services to companies, institutions, and high-net-worth individuals in the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Asia. Beltone is the largest asset manager in Egypt with circa EGP 30 bn in assets under management.
