Norton Rose Fulbright has advised DPI, a leading Africa-focused private equity firm with US$1.1 billion in assets under management, on the sale by its ADP I Fund of a 27.7% shareholding in CAL Bank, which is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Settlement of the trade is to be effected on 14 February 2017 and the trade is believed to represent the largest ever single trade on the Ghana Stock Exchange. 

CAL Bank is one of Ghana’s leading independent banks and is active in corporate, retail and investment banking. CAL Bank is the third largest bank in Ghana based on loans advanced. The stake is being sold to Arise BV, a financial services investment company whose major shareholders are Norfund, Rabobank and FMO.

The Norton Rose Fulbright team in London was led by partner Bayo Odubeko, who was assisted by associates Greg Smith and Kiran Radhakrishnan, and trainee solicitor Darpit Mehta.

Bayo Odubeko commented: “Ghana is one of Africa’s largest growth markets and the government has shown a strong commitment to the development of financial services sector. The demand for financial services is growing and we expect more activity in this arena in Ghana and across West Africa.”

Norton Rose Fulbright has one of the largest legal footprints in Africa of any international law firm and has been advising on deals in Africa for over 30 years across over 45 jurisdictions.