Bob Diamond’s Atlas Mara Backed by Trafigura and Morgan Stanley
Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) — Robert Diamond’s Atlas Mara Co-Nvest Ltd. sold its London shares to companies including Trafigura Beheer BV and Morgan Stanley as it seeks to fund financial- services acquisitions in Africa.
Trafigura, which trades commodities, owns more than 6 percent of Atlas Mara’s stock, according to its most recent regulatory filing in London today, while Morgan Stanley holds 5.4 percent. Other shareholders include U.S. investment companies Wellington Management Co. LLP and Janus Capital Management LLC and Diamond himself, with a 2.3 percent stake, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Atlas Mara started trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market on Aug. 26, which prompted its biggest shareholders to disclose their stakes. The company raised $325 million in an initial public offering last December. It went back to the market in May to raise $300 million to fund acquisitions, including ABC Holdings Ltd., ADC African Development Corp. and the Development Bank of Rwanda.
Atlas Mara also has an option, expiring Sept. 7, to buy a stake in an African financial-services company that it didn’t identify in a filing.
The shares have dropped 3 percent since they resumed trading on Aug. 26. They rose 2.9 percent to $10.57 as of 3 p.m. in London, giving the company a market value of $759 million.
To contact the reporter on this story: Renee Bonorchis in Johannesburg at rbonorchis@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net Steve Bailey
