Atlas Mara Appoints Bob Diamond as Interim Chairman -- Update
October 11 2016 - 6:05AM
Dow Jones News
By Margot Patrick
LONDON--Atlas Mara Ltd. (ATMA.LN) on Tuesday said Bob Diamond
will be its interim chairman, as the troubled African banking group
looks to get its growth strategy back on track.
Mr. Diamond, the former chief executive of Barclays PLC (BCS)
who co-founded Atlas Mara three years ago, will replace Arnold Ekpe
when he leaves in December to focus on other interests. The
assignment will be for a limited period while a new chairman is
found, the company said.
Mr. Diamond co-founded Atlas Mara in 2013 with entrepreneur
Ashish Thakkar and raised $625 million for it to buy banks in
Africa. But after acquisitions in countries including Botswana,
Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the group's ambitions to create a sizeable
and consolidated bank were hindered by a commodities crash and weak
dollar.
Atlas Mara shares traded in London Tuesday at $3.40 each, down
by around two-thirds from their listing price three years ago.
In August, Atlas Mara said it would cut costs to counter the
weakness and improve earnings, including by stripping out a layer
of management at its BancABC unit and reducing headcount in its
Dubai headquarters.
On Tuesday, Atlas Mara said it saw continued "positive
operational momentum" in the third quarter.
Mr. Diamond resigned from Barclays in 2012 in an interest rate
rigging scandal. Since then, he has also started a private equity
firm.
(Tapan Panchal contributed to this article.)
-Write to Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 11, 2016 05:50 ET (09:50 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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