(Ecofin Agency) - The pan-African banking groups Vista and Coris Group are close to taking over French banking group Société Générale’s subsidiaries in four African countries. According to a press release from the French banking group, Vista will take over the subsidiaries in the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea, while Coris Group will acquire that of Mauritania and Chad. Under the terms of the agreement, the two pan-African banking groups would take over all the activities of Société Générale, as well as all the customer portfolios and staff. In its release, the French banking group indicates its confidence in the pan-African banks’ ability to ensure the development of the subsidiaries they are acquiring. 

This operation is not the first to be completed by Vista under the management of Burkinabe banker Simon Tiemtoré.  It previously  acquired the subsidiaries of two other French banking groups and also acquired the majority stakes of BNP Paribas in Guinea Conakry (55%) and Burkina Faso (51%), thanks to a €59 million financial backing from Afrexim Bank. Recently, it secured $41.2 million in assistance from the West African Development Bank (WADB) for the acquisition of a majority stake in Orabank Group, a Togolese group owned by a consortium led by Emerging Capital Partners.

However, for Coris Bank, this would be its first acquisition of this scale. The group, based in Burkina Faso and listed on the Abidjan Stock Exchange, already has a significant presence in eight West African countries in addition to its home base. 

For the time being, details about the amount for the deal and the financing methods have not been disclosed yet. Nevertheless, Societe Generale expects the transaction, which still requires regulatory approvals, to be completed by the end of 2023.