By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)- Global Alternative Asset Manager, The Carlyle Group has invested $147 million through its Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund in Diamond Bank Plc, the Nigerian lender said on Monday in a statement.
Diamond Bank affirmed the investment was made possible through purchase by the company of rights traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in its recently completed N50 billion rights issue.
Uzoma Dozie, group managing director/chief executive officer (Designate) of the Nigerian mid-tier lender said he believes the investment by the company is a testament of the Bank’s strong brand and success over the years, particularly in the Retail/SME space.
Dozie also expressed confidence that The Carlyle Group will bring unique values to their involvement with the bank and that this will be fruitful and beneficial to all stakeholders. ‘’Particularly, Diamond Bank stands to benefit from Carlyle’s extensive network of financial services specialists as it continue to strengthen its market position, expand commercial and retail offerings, and further enhance operations,’’ he affirmed.
The Carlyle Group is a global alternative asset manager with $203 billion of assets under management across 129 funds and 141 fund of funds vehicles as of September 30, 2014.
The firm has expertise in various industries, including financial services and employs 1,700 people in 40 offices across six continents.
Launched in 2011, The Carlyle Sub-Saharan Africa Fund and its affiliates have invested almost $300 million to date across a variety of industries, including logistics, mining services, retail and financial services, and across a variety of geographies, including Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Southern Africa.
