Atlas Mara has successfully increased its stake in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc to 29.9 per cent. This was done through the acquisition of approximately 20.9 per cent of Union Bank of Nigeria’s holdings from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), for a purchase price of approximately $250 million. Union Bank, which has 340 branches across Nigeria and had about N1.008 trillion of assets, N409 billion in deposits and N208 billion in equity at the end of June is undergoing a rebranding exercise to make the bank more competitive.
UBN was established as Colonial Bank in 1917, and from 1925 until the 1970s was owned by Barclays, the British bank that Diamond led before being ousted under a cloud two years ago. UBN’s market capitalisation is about N136 billion. “This is a very significant acquisition … we will have a significant stake in a key Nigerian bank and we will also have established strategic market positions in three of Africa’s leading economic communities: the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East Africa Community (ECA) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),” the promoter of Atlas Mara had stated.
UBN is majority owned by Union Global Partners Ltd (UGPL), a consortium of investors including hedge fund Corsair Capital, African Capital Alliance and the Netherlands Development Finance Co., which stepped in to support it after a 2009 state bailout. Former Barcays Boss, Bob Diamond who is the promoter of Atlas Mara, is one of the world’s best-known bankers after spearheading the growth of Barclays’ investment bank before being forced from his job as CEO in 2012 by UK regulators after the bank was fined for attempted rigging of Libor interest rates. Agency report
