South Africa’s Nedbank Group is set to acquire a 20 percent shareholding Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) for USD493.4 million 4,512,618,890 new ETI shares.

Though the 20% sale increases Ecobank’s capital base, it also answers Nedbank’s African expansion plans and strengthens the firms one-bank alliance they formed six years ago to provide banking services to their clients across Africa.

Mike Brown, Nedbank Group Chief Executive noted: “Nedbank Group’s clients are increasingly expanding their business operations into the rest of Africa, and Nedbank Group’s own operations in Southern and East Africa, combined with ETI’s unrivalled pan-African footprint and strength in West and Central Africa provides our clients with access to banking solutions across 39 African countries. This investment also offers our shareholders participation in earnings growth from the faster growing markets in sub-Saharan Africa.”

ETI and Nedbank Group established their strategic business alliance in 2008, with the aim of providing seamless banking services across the continent to each other’s clients. This transaction deepens the alliance and includes a commitment to reciprocal technical banking expertise and management support. Together, ETI and Nedbank Group will offer a unique one-bank experience to their clients across the largest banking network in Africa, comprising more than 2,000 branches and offices in 39 countries.

The deal will also help ETI repay Nedbank’s $285 million. Nedbank Group is 52% majority owned by Old Mutual plc, which is working with ETI as a joint partner in insurance in Nigeria.