Nedbank exiting international business for R1.8 billion
Nedbank is selling its stake in Togo-based finance group, Ecobank, for about R1.8 billion as it looks to cut back from West Africa.
Nedbank acquired a 21.2% stake in Togo-based Ecobank in October 2014 as the group looked to expand outside of South Africa.
In its interim results for the first half of 2025, Nedbank said there were risks to continuing holding on to the West African bank due to regulatory uncertainty and increased capital requirements.
The bank has now entered into a sale with Bosquet Investments, the private investment vehicle of Monaco-based Alain Nkontchou, to sell its stake in Ecobank for $100 million (R1.8 billion).
Nkontchou is a co-founder of Enko Capital, an African-focused asset management group with assets under management of $1.2 billion.
Nkontchou was previously a non-executive director of Ecobank between April 2015 and June 2024, and became chairman in June 2020.
Nedbank said Bosquet Investments has provided appropriate security to evidence the funding for the purchase consideration.
The sale is expected to be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025, with no conditions precedent for the deal outside of regulatory approvals.
Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn said that the sale followed an evaluation of the investment’s alignment, financial performance and long-term value.
He added that the deal is consistent with the group’s ongoing efforts to optimise capital allocation and focus on core growth areas.
The disposal represents a reset of Nedbank’s strategy on the rest of the African continent with a clear focus on the SADC and East Africa regions within the group.
While exiting Ecobank, Nedbank announced earlier this week that it is spending roughly R1.65 billion in cash to acquire iKhokha, the maker of card machines in South Africa.
iKhokha processes over R20 billion annually in digital payments. It has also distributed more than R3 billion working capital into the SME sector.
Quinn said that the iKhokha will unlock new opportunities for growth in South Africa and potentially abroad.
Loading ...