The driving forces of West/African banking history are accelerating. The departure of BNP Paribas from Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie du Sénégal (BICIS) and BICICI (BNP subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire, decision taken by the Board of Directors; data room open in less than month), announced exclusively by Financial Afrik, opens a window of opportunity for potential buyers.
According to our information, the Senegalese Pathé Dione, CEO of the Sunu Group, is a solid candidate to take over the shares of BNP PARIBAS IRB PARTICIPATIONS in BICIS.
Leader in life insurance in the CIMA Zone (14 countries in West and Central Africa) with, in 2020, a market share of 27%, a consolidated turnover of 206 billion CFA Francs and 519 billion CFA francs in assets under management, the Sunu Group presents a technical and financial plan to take over 54% of the shares of the French giant through its subsidiary SUNU Investment Holding SA (SIH), a banking holding company under Ivorian law with a capital of CFAF 17.5 billion.
This structure, which owns 70% of SUNU Bank Togo, has been approved as a financial company by the BCEAO. Today, it can be noted that SUNU’s first banking experience was successfully completed with the recovery and development of the Banque Pour l’Epargne et le Commerce du
Togo devenue SUNU Bank Togo.
Major advantage for Sunu in the takeover of BICIS and BICICI, we are told, from sources familiar with the matter, “he is already an 18% shareholder in the latter, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas in Côte d’Ivoire. ‘Ivoire, and is the only declared Senegalese candidate for the takeover of BICIS”.
Sunu and BNP Paribas have forged strong partnerships throughout history. The Senegalese group is not only the second largest shareholder of BICICI following BNP PARIBAS, but also sits on the bank’s board of directors, with strong involvement of its representatives at the level of specialized committees. For its part, BICIS holds a 2.5% stake in the capital of SUNU Assurances Vie Senegal.
In addition, SUNU is one of the most important clients of BICI Bourse, a management and intermediation company subsidiary of BICICI and BICIS, in which SUNU Assurances Vie Côte d’Ivoire has a 5% stake.
While waiting for the investment bank, the venerable Rothschild, to make a first selection, the candidates for the takeover are numerous. In addition to Sunu, 6 other potential buyers would jostle at the gate. First there is the Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP) of Morocco, parent company of Banque Atlantique du Senegal, which hopes to consolidate its positions in Senegal. Similarly, BMCE Bank Of Africa, another Moroccan group, present through Bank Of Africa Senegal, would be a candidate to take over BNP Paribas’ shares in BICIS.
Also a candidate, the insurance company of the Ivorian François Baku, already a shareholder of BICIS. Another candidate, Ecobank Senegal, a subsidiary of a pan-African group wishing to play the leading roles in Senegal. The Burkinabé Simon Tiemtoré of the Vista Group, closely supported by Afreximbank, completes the list.
Faced with this plethora of candidates, the Senegalese State, BICIS’s second largest shareholder, will have a major role to play. Dakar
had convinced, let us recall, Pathé Dione to repatriate to Africa the holding companies initially established in France. This is how the Group created in Dakar in 2019, SUNU Participations West Africa (SHWA), a holding company with a capital of 28 billion CFA francs, whose purpose is to carry all the participations of insurance companies held in the Zone. WAEMU.
