Oragroup Announces Success Of Its Initial Public Offering

The Pan-African banking group Oragroup on Wednesday announced the success of its initial public offering. The company’s IPO, which was offered to the public for subscription starting October 29 until November 22, 2018, was reportedly sold at 100%. The listing of the shares is expected in the first quarter of 2019.

The public offer included the issue of around 6,097,561 new shares by way of a capital increase, and the sale of 7,785,445 existing shares on the secondary market, at a price of CFAF 4,100 per share.

The listing of the new shares is expected in the first quarter of 2019, in the first compartment of the Regional Stock Exchange (BRVM). The listing will be done after agreements with the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF) and the BRVM are fully met. Oragroup’s listing on the regional stock market will mark the biggest introduction to the BRVM since its creation in 1988.

After the transaction gets complete, around 20 percent of Oragroup’s capital will be listed on the stock exchange (floating capital), while 80 percent of the remaining  capital will be retained by the other current shareholders of the Group, including the pan-African investor Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) which holds more than 50 percent of the shares.

Oragroup had a balance sheet total of CFAF 1,794 billion (€ 2.72 billion) at the end of 2017. The banking group has achieved a massive growth of 45 percent since 2014. The total deposits made by Orabank customers during the period amounted to 1,179 billion CFA francs, while credit operations reached a total of to 1,085 billion CFA francs. The Group posted a total net banking income of 108 billion CFA francs (164 million euros) and net income at 21.97 billion CFA francs (33 million euros).

In the last 10 years, the Orabank network has expanded its presence from five countries in West and Central Africa to a pan-African dimension with subsidiaries in 12 countries spread over four currency areas.