Stanbic Bank Botswana to sell 20% stake in IPO, list on Botswana Stock Exchange

Stanbic Bank Botswana, a unit of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group, is selling a 20% stake through an initial public offering that will list the lender on the Botswana Stock Exchange. The offer covers 319.4 million existing shares priced at 4.30 pula each, valuing the transaction at about 1.37 billion pula, or $94 million.

Offer details

Stanbic Africa Holdings is selling the shares and will keep an 80% stake in the Botswana unit after the transaction. Of the shares on offer, 63.9 million are available to retail investors. The remainder is reserved for institutional investors.

The bank said the listing is meant to broaden local ownership, promote citizen economic empowerment and deepen participation in Botswana’s capital markets.

The shares on offer are existing shares. That means the proceeds go to Stanbic Africa Holdings, the seller, rather than to Stanbic Bank Botswana as new capital.

Timetable

The public offer closes on November 27. The shares are expected to start trading on December 7.

Market context

The IPO is the third share offer on the local bourse in recent weeks. It follows a decade-long drought in new listings on the Botswana Stock Exchange.

The transaction will give retail investors in Botswana a direct stake in one of the country’s banks while Stanbic Africa Holdings keeps control with its 80% holding. The offer price and the 1.37 billion pula valuation set the terms for the listing.