[2008-09-02]  Bank Gets Waivers Ahead of IPO

Co-operative Bank has received some exemptions from Treasury ahead of its Initial Public Offering on October 17 subject to statutory approvals. Treasury last week exempted the bank from disclosure rules to avoid paperwork involved in detailing its seven million shareholders. In a gazette notice mimicking that put out during the listing of Equity Bank, the Government exempted the bank for ten years. The Sh10 billion IPO will be the largest issue after Safaricom and the largest from the private sector in Kenya. Banking laws require full disclosure of beneficiaries of listed shares. In a statement, Co-op bank managing director Gideon Muriuki said they had applied to the Ministry of Finance through Central Bank for an exemption to section 13(3) of the Banking Act. The gazette notice number 108 granting the exemption is dated August 21, 2008.The bank which is owned by the co-operative movement, has carried out a major restructuring of the shareholding as it gears to listing at the Nairobi Stock Exchange. It converted into a limited liability company by transferring its assets and liabilities from a co-operative to Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd.Some 77 per cent of the shares are now owned by the strategic share owner, Co-upholding Co-operative Society Ltd, comprising 3,805 societies. The balance of 23 per cent is held by individual members and counts for class 'B' shares unlike the majority block, formerly referred to as class 'A' shares. The 51,000 individuals have now been allocated one share each. Single shareholder” The unique structure was critical to retaining the 'co-operative bank' identity of the bank serving the over seven million-member co-operative movement in Kenya," said Mr. uriuki.Exemption was also received on 13(1), which bars any single shareholder from owning more than 25 per cent of a bank. The 77 per cent would have counted as a single block. Dyer & Blair, the lead transaction advisor, is in the process of getting Capital Markets Authority and NSE approvals.
Source: EAST AFRICA