Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Norfund on the agreement to purchase of a stake of 12.223% in Equity Group Holdings Ltd. (“Equity”) from Helios Investment Partners (“Helios”). The deal is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals.

Norfund is the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries. Established by the Norwegian Parliament in 1997, Norfund’s objective is to contribute to sustainable commercial businesses in developing countries. NorFinance is a joint venture between Norfund and Norwegian private equity investors.

Equity is the leading inclusive banking group in East Africa with nearly 10 million customer accounts and nearly $4 billion in assets. Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Uganda Securities Exchange, the bank has subsidiaries across the region and is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance agency, investment banking, securities brokerage and information and telecommunications technology outsourcing services. The bank has expanded its business and customer segments, and extended its operations regionally into Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan.

Bayo Odubeko, a corporate partner in the London office of Norton Rose Fulbright, led the team that advised Norfund. He commented: “We are seeing a great deal of corporate activity in the financial institution sector across Africa which is reflective of the vitality of the continent’s economy.”

Bayo Odubeko regularly advises financial institutions on mergers, acquisitions and disposals throughout Africa. In December 2014, he advised DPI (“Development Partners International LLP”) and AfricInvest, leading Africa-focused private equity funds and DEG, FMO and PROPARCO, the European development finance institutions, on their landmark agreement to sell Assur Africa Holding (“AAH”) to global insurer and asset manager AXA Group.