Due Diligence report puts AfrAsia 74.48% shares deal in a limbo

The Bank of Mauritius (BoM) is reportedly in the presence of a due diligence report which could jeopardise IBL’s deal to sell its 30.29% shares in AfrAsia Bank to the Atlantic Financial Group (AFG) of Côte d’Ivoire.

L’Express has cited unnamed sources “in the banking world” as claiming that the BoM is apparently not satisfied with the source of financing of the African buyer and other information relating to its presence in the Indian Ocean and in several countries on the African continent. 

The newspaper recalled that the BoM had sought a detailed report on AFG’s shareholders its and its operations as part of the due diligence exercise.

In Mauritius, the AfrAsia Bank takeover would involve 74.48% shares held by IBL Ltd and the National Bank of Canada.

IBL Ltd is the country’s largest private group and is listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritiu. It has a staff count of around 22,000 employees across various sectors.

A group of AfrAsia’s minority shareholders has also reportedly filed an injunction before the Supreme Court challenging the deal, on the claim that they were not given the opportunity to participate in the proposed sale of the said shares.

The amount of the proposed transaction between AFG and IBL has not officially been disclosed. AfrAsia’s shareholding currently includes IBL’s 30.29%, National Bank of Canada’s 20.52% and 23.08% of entities owning less than 5% of shares.

Source: l’Express