International legal practice Norton Rose has fielded a team from its London and Johannesburg offices to advise Barclays on the combination of the majority of its African operations with Absa Group.
The proposed transaction will be effected by way of an acquisition by Absa Group of Barclays Africa Limited, the holding company of Barclays’ ownership interests in banking operations in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, for a consideration of 129,540,636 Absa Group shares, representing a value of ZAR18.3 billion (c.GBP1.3 billion).
As a result of the transaction, Barclays’ stake in Absa Group will increase from 55.5 per cent to 62.3 per cent.
To reflect the enlarged portfolio and pan-African focus of the business, it is intended that “Absa Group Limited” will be renamed “Barclays Africa Group Limited” on completion of the transaction.
The proposed transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2013, subject to fulfilment of certain regulatory and other conditions.
The Norton Rose team is being led by Alan Bainbridge (corporate, Abu Dhabi/London), Emma de Ronde (corporate, London) and Kevin Cron (corporate, Johannesburg), assisted by Ed Brogan, Anne Ledingham, Lance Jones, Kendra MacDonald, Vic Kandampully and TJ Zhang (corporate, London) and Zano Nduli (corporate, Johannesburg). Additional support has been provided by Martin Scott (corporate, London) and Charles Ancer (corporate, Johannesburg).
South African regulatory advice is being provided by Bridget King. Tax advice is being provided by Dominic Stuttaford and Andrew James (London) and Andrew Wellsted and Ross Robertson (Johannesburg). Intellectual property advice is being provided by Jonathan Ball (London). Employment advice is being provided by Catrina Smith (London). Additional support has been provided by Charlotte Winter (London).
