Former Barclays Chief Executive Officer Bob Diamond's reappearance in the banking industry is no less than dramatic after Atlas Mara raised $325 million for its initial public offering in London, the Financial Times reported. Atlas Mara is a cash shell that seeks to look for opportunities in the African financial sector. The vehicle filed its prospectus for the IPO on Tuesday, December 17, saying that it intended to start trading in London on December 20. Atlas Mara's initial target was only $250 million, the report said.
The prospectus revealed that the company will concentrate on buying a company or business in the financial services sector that has majority of its operations in Africa. The report said the 62-year old Diamond had met with Nigerian senior officials, fuelling speculation that he may be looking to purchase one of the lenders in the country.
The report said bankers are lured to Sub-Saharan African region since majority of the population in the area are not users of banking services. Only a quarter of the 1 billion population have a bank account. Less than 5% of Africans own a credit card, the report said.
Diamond is working together with the 32-year old head of Mara Group, Ashish Thakkar. Mara Group is a $1 billion conglomerate which has businesses in 19 countries in Africa. The report said Diamond and Thakkar each personally invested $20 million for the venture.
In its prospectus, the firm said significant gaps were presented in the market today. Part of the prospectus read, "This situation presents opportunities for the company to execute the acquisition and to create a financial institution that provides leadership, liquidity, access to investors, product innovation, and technology to support economic growth and strengthen financial systems in Africa."
Atlas Mara's board included Nigerian oil businessman and Sahara Energy head Tonye Cole and former International Finance Corporation Vice-President Rachel Robbins.
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