Law firm Eversheds has advised German bank, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, on the sale of its banking operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Equity Group, the publicly quoted Kenyan bank.

The transaction completed on September 29, 2015 and involved the sale of the entire stake in the Bank held by ProCredit, Belgische Investeringsmaatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. and Stichting DOEN to Equity Group.

In the DRC, ProCredit is the seventh largest bank by assets and a leading bank in the SME sector. It has net assets of over $25m and a customer base of over 170,000. The wider ProCredit group is made up of development-oriented banks operating in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa which aims to combine high development impact with commercial success for its shareholders.

Upon completion of the transaction, Equity Group became the largest shareholder in the Bank (with 79%) alongside International Finance Corporation and KfW Development Bank (on behalf of the German government) who are existing shareholders.

The Eversheds team advising ProCredit was led by Partner Chris Halliday and Senior Associate, Nick Turner.

Chris commented:

“It has been a pleasure working alongside the ProCredit team on this transaction and we look forward to working with them in the future. Over the last decade, the Eversheds Africa Group has advised clients in every African jurisdiction, working alongside our unique EALI network of local lawyers who intimately understand their countries’ national legislation and culture.”

Helen Alexander, Manager of ProCredit commented:

“The team at Eversheds were very responsive and diligent. We are very grateful to them, particularly Chris and Nick, for helping to ensure a smooth and efficient transaction. Their support, particularly in the context of what was a complex transaction involving multiple jurisdictions and several international parties, has been greatly appreciated”