Helios To Sell Half Its Stake In Kenya’s Equity Bank

January 16, 2015 Onyedimmakachukwu International, Investing, Investors, M & A, Stocks & Bonds

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VENTURES AFRICA – Kenya’s Equity Bank said on Friday that Africa focused investment firm, Helios, will sell half of its stake in the lender to Norfininvest AS. Norway’s Norfininvest is an investment vehicle owned by Norfund, the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries, and Norfinance AS, established in 2013 alongside four private Norwegian partners to invest in banks and financial institutions in Africa.
Helios currently has 24.44 percent of the bank’s shares and will transfer 12.22 percent, or 452.9 million shares to Norfininvest at an undisclosed price. However, the deal still requires regulatory approvals. According to Reuters, Equity’s shares were trading at
52 Kenyan shillings on Friday, up slightly from the previous day’s close of 51 shillings. Helios bought a 24.45 percent stake in Equity in 2007 for more than 11 billion shillings ($120.2 million)
Helios telecommunication investments 
Helios has heavily invested in telecommunication masts across Africa. The company’s co-owned Helios Towers, last year purchased 3,100 telecom towers from Bharti Airtel to become the largest independent tower company in Africa. Although both companies did not disclose the financial size of the tower deal, it was estimated by the Economic Times to be between $2.5 and $3 billion.