The Abraaj Group announced the successful withdrawal of its investments in Ghana based HFC Bank. The group sold its stake in HFC to an independent Caribbean bank, Republic Bank Limited, popularly known as RepBank.
The Abraaj Group is a leading investor operating in the growth markets of Asia, MENA, Turkey and Central Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. In 2012 it completed the merger of Aureos Capital, thereby creating the deepest bench of private equity experience across growth markets.
Commenting on the exit, Jacob Kholi, Partner, The Abraaj Group, said: “Our investment in HFC was well timed as we capitalized on the rapid growth in the banking sector in Ghana. With the support of the other stakeholders, the Bank executed a successful strategy which has attracted a lot of strategic interest. This created the opportunity for our successful exit. We believe that the new partnership being forged with RepBank will propel HFC to the next level of its growth.”
Through its funds, the group acquired its initial stake in HFC in 2010 and made an addition investment in 2012. It is through this investment that HFC has become one of the leading domestic banks in Ghana and remained strongly capitalized, allowing it to increase its branch network.
The bank currently has twenty seven branches across Ghana, and working to open even more hence expanding its reach. With The Abraaj Group’s support, lending to businesses and consumers and deposits has grown significantly, with loans and advances to customers increasing to more than 100 per cent from GHS160 million (USD 77.39)to GHS330 million (USD 159.61), and deposits from customers growing to more than 150 per cent from GHS123 million(USD 59.49) to GHS312 million (USD 150.91).
Mr. Asare Akuffo, Managing Director of HFC, commented: “The investment by Abraaj has enabled HFC to lay the foundations that will facilitate the next phase of our growth and expansion.”
HFC Bank was formed in 1990, listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange in 1995. The Bank existed as an independent mortgage finance institution until 2003, when it expanded into universal banking, providing a wide variety of financial services.