Former Barclays Chief Executive, Robert E. Diamond Jr., who was ousted nearly 18 months ago amid a rate-fixing scandal, has raised $325 million for a new venture that will focus on potential acquisitions in the African financial sector, DealBook reported
The new venture, known as Atlas Mara, will however not be limited to the financial sector or Africa alone. The fund had targeted to raise $250 million, includes $20 million from the founders, but surpassed the target.
“The directors believe that there are significant gaps in the market today including the need for capital created by European financial institutions retreating to their home territories due to the sovereign debt crisis and the Basel III regulatory framework at a critical time for growth in Africa,” DealBook quotes an Atlas Mara statement.
In the new venture, Diamond, 62, has partnered with Ashish J. Thakkar, 32, an entrepreneur whose Mara Group conglomerate has technology, manufacturing and real estate operations and interests in 19 African countries.
Thakkar began his career by setting up a technology business in Uganda at age 15. The name of the cash-shell vehicle reflects the conglomerate and Atlas Merchant Capital, a merchant bank Diamond has founded.
Atlas Mara expects to list on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, with conditional trading of the stock beginning on Tuesday.
Citigroup acted as the sole global co-coordinator and book-runner on the deal.
Diamond, a once high-flying Wall Street executive, resigned from Barclays in July 2012 under pressure from government regulators. In June of that year, the bank agreed to pay $450 million to British and American authorities to settle charges that it had manipulated a global benchmark, the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.
A former bond trader at Morgan Stanley, he worked at Credit Suisse and BZW, which became the foundation of what became Barclays’ investment business, Barclays Capital. Mr. Diamond built that business into a global giant and became chief executive of the parent company Barclays in January 2011.