African bank Atlas Mara is in talks to invest US$22.5mn in Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) and merge it with BRD Commercial Bank
Atlas Mara, which was co-founded by erstwhile Barclays head Bob Diamond, is likely to own 45 per cent of BPR and plans to buy shares from other local stakeholders to bring up its stake to more than 70 per cent.
The bank’s chief executive John Vitalo said, “We will be the largest bank by branch locations and the second largest by assets in Rwanda, which is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most dynamic economies.”
The combined assets of the newly-formed financial institution would be worth almost US$305mn, added Atlas Mara officials.
Founded in 2013 by a merger between Diamond’s Atlas Merchant Capital LLC and Mara Group, Atlas Mara is considering more acquisitions as part of its plan to become sub-Saharan Africa’s leading bank. It has operations or interests across seven countries including Botswana, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
