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The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will require Equity Group to commit to the global financier’s standards touching on environmental, social, and anti-money laundering practices before the institutional investor buys a 4.3 percent stake in the bank.
IFC usually asks companies it is investing in to adhere to its corporate governance policies. Some of the issues are already covered in national and international laws while others are currently voluntary, including environmental sustainability.
The bank’s commitment to the standards is part of the conditions that will have to be met before IFC and a fund –IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund— complete the purchase of a combined 6.71 percent stake from Britam Holdings.
The insurer is selling the shares in a private transaction in which the parties negotiated the price and other terms including the issues IFC wants to be prioritised.
Such deals are markedly different from open market transactions where buyers of minority stakes are not entitled to negotiate with companies they are investing in over any issue.
“IFC and IFC FIG Fund having entered into a policy agreement with Equity Group relating to certain sanctionable practices, anti-money laundering, combating the financing of terrorism and environmental and social policies,” reads one of the conditions.
Britam negotiated a price of Sh55 for each of the 253.2 million Equity shares it is selling to IFC and the fund managed by the global financier.
The price represents a significant premium to Equity’s stock price which closed at Sh49.3 on Friday.
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