Kayode Ekundayo
23 May 2011
Lagos — The Global Fleet Group, owned by business mogul Jimoh Ibrahim, at the weekend took over a subsidiary of Oceanic Bank, in Sao Tome. It was gathered that Ibrahim is expected to spend $25 million for the recapitalization of the bank.
The bank was handed over to Jimoh Ibrahim as the new chairman in Sao Tome at the completion of its board meeting on Friday.
Jimoh Ibrahim, who is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Global Fleet signed on behalf of his company while the Managing Director of Oceanic Bank, John Aboh led eight subsidiaries of the bank to Sao Tome for the event.
The bank was set up in 2008 and licensed by the Central Bank of Sao Tome. Our correspondent reports that the bank in its last financial statement made a loss of $600,000, and has a contingency balance sheet of about 166.4 billion Dobras (Sao Tome currency).
Ibrahim, who said the bank would be repositioned to make profit, stressed that the takeover of the bank is strategic to Nigeria’s external relations.
He said the group would acquire five banks before 2015 to enable it compete favourably in the global economy in the next 10 years.
Our correspondent reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria communicated her approval for the sale of the bank to Global Fleet two weeks before the transaction was concluded.
It would be recalled that last week in Lagos, Jimoh Ibrahim acquired Newswatch magazine.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Jimoh Ibrahim Takes Over Oceanic Bank Sao Tome