EFG Hermes has entered into a definitive sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire 100% of Primera Africa, a top-ranked brokerage house in Nigeria.
Upon completion of the acquisition, Primera Africa will operate under EFG Hermes’ brand name.
“Nigeria is our fourth direct entry as we continue our strategy of expanding our geographic footprint in high-potential, frontier emerging markets,” said EFG Hermes Holding Group Chief Executive Officer Karim Awad.
Over the past 12 months, EFG Hermes has directly entered Pakistan, Kenya, and Bangladesh, in addition to receiving recent regulatory approval from the FCA to operate in the United Kingdom out of its London office.
“Nigeria is Africa’s largest consumer market and is consistently among the three largest economies on the continent alongside Egypt and South Africa. On the capital markets’ front, it accounted for the largest share of our brokerage executions, and revenue among all frontier markets, in which we indirectly executed, during 2017,” said Mohamed Ebeid, co-CEO of the Investment Bank at EFG Hermes.
Ali Khalpey, the London-based CEO of EFG Hermes Frontier, explained that Nigeria is one of the largest and most economically diverse frontier markets globally, following the series of structural reforms and a devaluation of the national currency.
He added that with the recovery of oil prices, significant portfolio inflows, and with the demonstrated ability to tap global debt markets, Nigeria will benefit from broad currency stability.
EFG Hermes expects to complete the acquisition of Primera Africa by 31 August 2018, subject to regulatory approval and the satisfaction of certain conditions.
