AtlasMara Ltd., the African banking group started by former Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Diamond, agreed to sell its Rwandan and Tanzanian operations as the lender started talks with debt holders about upcoming repayments.
Kenya’s biggest bank KCB Group Plc will buy a 62.06% stake in the Rwanda business and Atlas Mara’s Tanzanian unit to further expand its operations in the East African region, the Nairobi -based company said. It agreed to pay 1.09 times book value for Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc and 0.42 times for African Banking Corp. Tanzania Ltd., it said in a statement Thursday.
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The deal is part of London -listed Atlas Mara’s strategy of paring back on its African foray after Diamond, 69, misjudged competition on the continent and paid too much for acquisitions. The onset of the coronavirus #pandemic has accelerated the need to reposition the company, which has seen about 96% plunge in its stock since it started trading toward the end of 2013.