French banking group Credit Agricole has agreed to offload its 78.7% stake in the Moroccan banking unit Credit du Maroc to Holmarcom.
The value of the deal, which will be completed in two phases upon regulatory clearance, was not disclosed.
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Initially, Credit Agricole plans to divest a 63.7% stake in the Moroccan arm by the end of 2022.
Of the 63.7% stake, the Holmarcom group would hold 50.9% through its subsidiary Holmarcom Finance Company while the remaining 12.8% stake would be held via another affiliate, called AtlantaSanad Assurance.
The remaining 15% stake in Credit du Maroc will be sold 18 months after the closing of the first transaction.
“The sale of the stake in Credit du Maroc will have a positive impact approximately of 10 bps on Credit Agricole’s CET1 ratio,” the French bank noted.
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By GlobalDataCredit Agricole will continue to operate in the Moroccan retail banking space through Wafasalaf, a joint venture between the French lender and Attijariwafa Bank.
For Holmarcom, the deal is part of its strategic development goals, which include bolstering presence in the insurance space, diversification of financial services business and expansion in sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier this month, Credit Agricole bought a minority stake in Italian banking major Banco BPM.
According to media reports, the French banking group is looking to take a controlling stake in the Italian bank’s insurance arm, which is valued at around $1.6bn.
