The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will float the shares it owns on the open market as an initial public offering (IPO), APA learnt on Wednesday.
African Bank was placed under curatorship in 2014 following a debt crisis as it ran around to look for a solution.
The SARB then acquired a 50-percent stake in the African Bank to save it from collapse but made it known it did not want to be a long-term investor – given the potential conflict of interest as it was the country’s industry regulator.
The SARB first announced its process to dispose of its shareholding in the African Bank in June 2021.
At the time, the SARB appointed a set of transaction advisers and proceeded on a dual-track approach, which focused on two potential exit options – namely, a sale to investors and an IPO.
The SARB said all expressions of interest were considered, and consultation took place with the relevant stakeholders and regulators involved in this process.
“After due consideration of the expressions of interest that were received, the SARB has concluded that none of the interested investors would be suitable to acquire the SARB’s shareholding at this stage,” SARB said.
The timing of the launch of the IPO will be dependent on prevailing market conditions, the apex bank said.
NM/jn/APA