News

Amethis Finance increases its stake in CIEL Finance Limited to 24.9%

13 August 2015 • reading time:4 mn • News

Amethis Finance, which already acquired in February 2015 a 17.1 % participation in CIEL Finance Limited, the banking and financial services cluster of the Mauritian group CIEL, has increased its stake by 7.8%, as initially planned, thus confirming its trust and long-term commitment towards CIEL Finance, in which it now holds a 24.9 % stake.

This second transaction – which will allow CIEL Finance to complete the acquisition of CIEL’s interests in BNI Madagascar – is in line with the strategy of Amethis Finance and CIEL Finance to further consolidate their partnership in order to expand their footprint in the Sub Saharan Africa region and the Indian Ocean. Both companies aim at capturing further opportunities in the financial industry in the above mentioned emerging regions, with a huge potential particularly in banking & financial services. Amethis and CIEL Finance expect to leverage on their shared field of expertise and best practices as well as their deep knowledge of the African market to generate additional business openings, either through acquisitions or organic growth related to the financial industry.

“We are delighted to have engaged in a long term partnership with Amethis Finance, which has an extensive experience of the banking and financial industry in Africa through long-term investment in leading African companies. This second part of the transaction will give us more firepower to further expand our footprint in the Sub-Saharan region and the Indian Ocean”, said Marc-Emmanuel Vives, CEO of CIEL Finance.

For Laureen Kouassi-Olsson, Financial Institutions Head at Amethis Finance, “Amethis is pleased to confirm its support to CIEL Finance Limited’s ambition to become a regional offshore and onshore financial platform.”

A propos de CIEL Finance Limited

CIEL Finance Limited (“CFL”) is a subsidiary of CIEL Limited (“CIEL”) and the specialised Banking & Financial Services cluster of the group, today actively involved in 4 sub-sectors of the financial industry:

  • Banking (Bank One / BNI Madagascar),
  • Fiduciary Services and Companies / Funds Administration (MITCO),
  • Asset Management (IPRO), and
  • Private Equity (Kibo).

CFL’s mission is to develop a wider and coherent presence in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, where we see a huge growth potential for the financial industry in all its components, based mostly on the rapid economic development of the region. It is also aiming at generating additional value thanks to fostering synergies between the units of CFL group, and with the partners associated to the group at various levels.

About Amethis Finance

Amethis Finance is an investment vehicle dedicated to Africa, with a total investment capacity of USD 530 million. Amethis Finance has been created by a team of experienced investors and bankers led by Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey and by La Compagnie Benjamin de Rothschild, subsidiary of the Edmond de Rothschild Group. They have been joined by a large group of private investors combining financial institutions and family offices. Amethis Finance is a “one stop shop” which provides all long-term financial instruments (long-term debt, equity and quasi equity investment), with high standards and objectives in terms of development, social and governance criteria. Amethis Finance ambitions to tap into a significant potential offered by the financial institutions landscape in Sub-saharan Africa and to dedicate 40% of its activity to this industry.

About CIEL

CIEL Limited is a leading diversified investment company in Mauritius, operating five business clusters spread across Mauritius, Africa and Asia with 27,000 employees. Since its beginnings in agriculture in 1912, CIEL is continuously exploring new avenues of development and international expansion. In January 2014, CIEL was listed on the Official Market of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (ticker symbol: “CIEL.N0000”), following the merger of one of its investment companies into the Group’s holding company. As at 31 March 2015, its portfolio was valued at 13.7 billion Mauritian rupees (USD 386 M). CIEL is one of the largest listed Mauritian companies with a market capitalisation as at 31 March 2015 was 10.5 billionMauritian rupees.

For more information, visit www.cielgroup.com

Contacts

Laureen Kouassi-Olsson (Financial Institutions Head):
Mail : laureen.kouasis-olsson@amethisfinance.com
Tel: +33 (0)1 56 68 85 64

Amelie Audibert (HR and Communication Manager)
Mail : aaudibert@cielgroup.com
Tel: +230 404 22 00