UBA Invests In Afrinvest

UBA, PLC of Nigeria, one of the largest financial institutions in West Africa, has made a substantial equity investment in Afrinvest, a privately owned investment bank specialising in African securities.

This investment in London further extends UBA's presence outside Africa where it already has regulated operations in New York and the Cayman Islands, in addition to a large footprint in major African countries.

Afrinvest Ltd is a London-based independent investment bank. Its focus is exclusively the African markets and it has become the leading provider of African securities to the European investment community in emerging markets.

It was created in 1995 to identify a gap in the emerging markets to provide specialised research and investment advice for London-based institutions interested in the African markets.

A release jointly issued by Afrinvest Ltd and UBA Plc said the transaction resulted in a name change for Afrinvest which now is UBA Capital (Europe) Ltd.

The deal provided UBA and its subsidiary UBA Global Markets, with a strategic presence in London from which it could distribute primary and secondary securities of African issuers, the statement said.

“For UBA Capital, this transaction will extend the range of products it will offer its clients and enhance the liquidity of its existing trading capabilities.

Furthermore, UBA Capital will leverage the group's footprint across Africa to extend the number of companies it covers in its research,” the joint press release stated.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of UBA Group, Mr Tony Elumelu, said “this stake in UBA Capital (Europe) Ltd marks a significant step forward in UBA's ambition to become the preferred bank for all transactions involving Africa and Africa-related business.”

He said the bank was delighted to invest in such a well-established and successful business recognised by the investment community as being the leading provider of African financial market products and research.”