Credit Agricole has sold its remaining 4% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) in a deal valued at SAR1.4bn ($387m) and permanently exited the Saudi Arabia market.
The buyers were two Saudi government related institutional investors, who bought the shares at SAR30 each.
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Crédit Agricole CIB CEO Jacques Ripoll said: “Crédit Agricole CIB remains highly confident in Saudi Arabia’s economic perspectives, in the wake of Vision 2030, and plans to further develop its direct presence to extend its activities in the country.”
“Crédit Agricole CIB has initiated a process to apply for a licence that will enable it to operate on Saudi capital markets.”
As at the end of 2019, Credit Agricole owned a 4% stake in BSF, RAM Holdings held 9%, and the remaining 87% was owned by Saudi shareholders.
This includes Kingdom Holding, Olayan Saudi Investment, and General Organization for Social Insurance, and Rashed Abdulrahman Al Rashed.
Credit Agricole’s sale of BSF stake brings an end to its decades-long investment in the country’s one of the biggest corporate banks.
The company has been gradually offloading its stake in BSF over the past three years.
Back in 2017, it sold a 16% stake in BSF to billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, followed by a series of smaller deals with US-based private equity company Ripplewood Holdings.
As at the end of December 2019, Ripplewood was entitled to acquire an additional 6% stake in BSF for SAR2.17bn ($578m).
Credit Agricole aims to secure a licence to operate its investment banking unit in Saudi Arabia, with a limited presence.
In January this year, Crédit Agricole acquired a majority stake in fintech firm Linxo Group for an undisclosed amount to bolster its position in the French digital payment space.
