Absa Group and Barclays Bank PLC have announced the completion of a landmark deal that sees the UK-based international banking business acquiring a majority stake of 53.96% of all ordinary shares in Absa Group Limited. This deal has enjoyed the support of the South African regulators, the Absa Group board and shareholders.
“Today is the day that we begin to combine our resources and skills to create the pre-eminent bank on the African continent, bringing value to customers and shareholders alike,” says Absa Group chief executive, Steve Booysen.
At a cost of nearly US$4.5 billion this is the largest foreign direct investment in South Africa and represents a historic deal, “not just for South Africa and its citizens but also for Barclays,” says David Roberts, director of Barclays PLC and chief executive of Barclays International Retail & Commercial Banking. “Absa is a valuable addition to the Barclays Group, bringing significant scale and expertise in the South African market, which we look forward to combining with our existing African presence.”
About Barclays PLC
Barclays is an international financial services group engaged primarily in banking, investment banking and investment management. Barclays has been involved in banking for over 300 years and operates in over 60 countries, with 76,200 employees and 2,916 branches worldwide. Barclays has five major business groupings. UK Banking is its core retail and business banking franchise in the UK. Barclays has over 10 million UK personal clients and 179,000 business banking clients. Barclaycard is the largest credit card brand in Europe and operates in Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Republic of Ireland and across Africa. Private Clients and International combines Barclays wealth management business and the Group's personal and commercial banking activities outside the UK. Barclays Capital is Barclays financing and risk management focused investment bank and BGI is Barclays global leader in the institutional investment management market.
