Speaking while giving an update to the media and investors on Thursday, Equity Group CEO James Mwangi said the bank has not absorbed any shares and that the process was solely done by Helios in accordance with the law/FILE
The London-based private equity firm started by selling its largest share of 12.2 percent going to Norfund and NorFinance, a joint venture investment company between Norfund and Norwegian private investors.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has taken a 5.58 stake in Equity Group while 5.4 percent has gone to UK-based investment firm Genesis.
The remaining Helios shareholding is now with NSSF Uganda, Africa Alliance, Investec, Renaissance Capital and Black Block.
Speaking while giving an update to the media and investors on Thursday, Equity Group CEO James Mwangi said the bank has not absorbed any shares and that the process was solely done by Helios in accordance with the law.
“The transactions are happening outside the bank and it is between two shareholders just like any other. If you look at Equity, there are about 2 million to 3 million shares that change hands every day and we would never know who exchanges hands,” Mwangi said adding that the transaction has not in any way affected the group.
“This does not affect the bank at all because there is no cash transaction happening within the bank,” he said while hesitant to get into details of the transactions arguing that “it would be like getting into another shareholder shoes.”
Other investors who expressed interest to purchase a stake at Equity Group through Helios include China Construction Bank, China Development Bank, Timasek-Singapore Sovereign Fund as well as Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), South Africa.
Helios put in over Sh11 billion in 2007 to become the largest shareholder in Equity Bank with 24.45 percent of the shares issued which is now valued in excess of about Sh46 billion at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
