Republic of Congo rejects SocGen's sale of subsidiary to Vista Group (updated)

Vista International

14/06/2023 20:18

(Adds SocGen's comment in 6th and 7th paragraph)
       DAKAR, June 14 (Reuters) - The government of the
Republic of Congo has said it will not recognise Societe
Generale's  SOGN.PA  sale of its country subsidiary to Vista
Group because the bank did not give it a right of first refusal.
    Congo's finance ministry said in a statement dated June 12
that it was surprised by the announcement by SocGen that it had
sold some of its subsidiaries in Africa including in the
Republic of Congo.
    SocGen said on June 8 that it had reached an agreement to
sell its subsidiaries in Congo Brazzaville and Equatorial Guinea
to Vista Group for an undisclosed amount. The bank owned 93.5%
of Societe General Congo.  
    "The Congolese state strongly denounces this approach and
considers the agreement of the Societe Generale Group to sell
its stake to the Vista Group as null," the finance ministry
statement said, adding that it did not exclude the use of legal
recourse against the Societe Generale.
    An official of Congo's finance ministry confirmed the
authenticity of the statement to Reuters on Thursday, adding
that the government had been informed of the planned sale but
had asked SocGen to hold off on any decision because it wanted
to exercise its right of first refusal.   
    "Societe Generale is a responsible player and the local and
regional regulatory authorities have been informed," the French
bank said in an e-mailed statement. 
        "The completion of these transactions, which could take
place by the end of 2023, is subject to the approval of the
entities' governing bodies, the usual suspensive conditions and
the validation of the competent financial and regulatory
authorities," it added.
  

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SocGen pares back Africa businesses in first move by new CEO   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N3800Z5
EXPLAINER-Who are the lenders stepping up as SocGen scales back
in Africa     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N3800UJ
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 (Reporting by Bate Felix;
Additional reporting by Mathieu Rosemain
Editing by Nick Zieminski and David Gregorio)
 ((bate.felix@thomsonreuters.com; +221 77 569 3192   Twitter:
@BateFelix;))