Dfcu has a new majority shareholder after South Africa-based Arise takes stake

A Dfcu Bank branch in Kampala
Photo: Edgar Batte/Uganda Business News

Arise B.V., an investment company based in Cape Town, has acquired a majority stake in dfcu Limited, the holding company of dfcu Bank.

A statement released by the company, which is listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange, says its two previous largest shareholders with a 27.54% stake each, Rabo Development B.V, and Norfinance AS (Norfund), have transferred their shares to Arise B.V.

“The shareholders of Arise B.V. are Norfund, NorFinance A.S., Rabo Development, and FMO (Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V.),” the statement says.

At Dfcu’s current share price of Shs760, the stake is worth Shs208.13bn.

Arise lent $50 million to dfcu to help the bank meet short-term capitalisation needs after it took over Crane Bank in January. The loan was announced in February.

At the time, Arise chief executive, Deepak Malik told Bloomberg the fund would convert the loan into equity, after taking a stake in a dfcu rights issue.

The fund was founded last year by Norfund, FMO and Rabobank to control the sub-Saharan Africa banking assets owned by the three European firms. It is operational in over ten African countries, and manages assets in excess of $660 million.

A statement released Wednesday by Arise says “the successful completion of the share transfer speaks directly to the reason why Arise was formed, which was through its shareholders, to partner with local Financial Service Providers (FSPs) in Sub Saharan Africa to advance economic growth and job creation by strengthening the banking sector.”

Deepak Malik, the Arise chief executive, said:

“This long-term investment by Arise will support dfcu Limited’s growth ambitions, enabling the organisation to improve its market position and efficiencies. In addition, we believe that this collaborative initiative will serve as a catalyst for improved returns to all stakeholders.”

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