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Rwandan businessman and serial investor Egide Gatera has acquired a six-percent stake in Rwanda’s second-largest bank, I&M Bank Rwanda Plc. The stake is worth $3.32 million.
Gatera is a renowned investor with experience in the local and regional business ecosystem.
He holds diversified interests in Rwanda and East Africa and has significant stakes in the banking, insurance, real estate, tourism and energy industries.
New Times recently reported that Gatera’s six-percent stake was previously held by the Mauritius-based private equity fund, Kibo Capital Partners, which acquired the interest in 2017 as a condition for the bank’s IPO. Experts believe his involvement in the bank will prove a valuable asset for the local lender in the financial services industry.
Commenting, Gatera said: “There are a lot of synergies to develop with our group. I&M Rwanda has a long experience in working with corporates and I am sure we will mutually benefit from this partnership.”
The total cash consideration paid by the Rwandan businessman as settlement to acquire the stake was not made available by Enexus Finance, the transaction advisor.
Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that his stake, which amounts to 72,888,800 ordinary shares in I&M Rwanda, is worth R₣3.28 billion ($3.32 million). The information is available on the Rwanda Stock Exchange.
His six-percent ownership stake in the Rwandan bank makes him its third-largest shareholder after BCR-Investment Limited and Africinvest, which hold a total equity stake of 54.47-percent and 24.76 percent, respectively.
I&M Rwanda is the second largest bank in Rwanda, with a market share of just over 10 percent. The bank operates as a subsidiary of the larger I&M Holdings through its 14 branches around the country, offering a full range of banking services in Rwanda, with a strong focus on corporates and SMEs.
As of March 2020, the bank had a total asset value of R₣474.75 billion ($481.36 million), while its liabilities, which include R₣295.70 billion ($299.33 million) in customer deposits and R₣59.84 billion ($60.68 million) in institutional deposits, were valued at R₣418.56 billion ($423.78 million).
In Q1 2021, which ended on March 31, I&M Rwanda posted a profit of R₣1.64 billion ($2.02 million).
