FNB Namibia has successfully concluded negotiations to acquire 100% of Pointbreak and EBank, subject to all necessary regulatory approvals.
Pointbreak, a Namibian financial services group, provides investment management and wealth management services to the private, corporate and institutional markets, managing in excess of N$8 billion of third party capital.
EBank delivers innovative inclusive banking to its clients, many of whom are in rural areas with little access to banking services.
The acquisition of Pointbreak will enhance the investment know-how and local wealth management capability of FNB, while Pointbreak's long standing client focused approach aligns well to FNB's vision of leading the premium banking space in Namibia.
The transaction will further complement the intended launch, of Ashburton Investments in Namibia, the asset management business within the FirstRand group, FNB Namibia's controlling shareholder. Clients of Pointbreak will therefore receive access to the wider range of investment products and financial services offered by FirstRand.
The transaction is still subject to various regulatory approvals, including those from the Bank of Namibia, Namfisa, Namibian Competition Commission and the South African Reserve Bank and can only be implemented after these approvals have been received.
Ellis Shilengudwa Inc. (ESI) acted as local counsel for FNB Namibia Holdings Limited and First National Bank Namibia Limited (collectively ‘FNB’) in a share purchase transaction in terms of which FNB will acquire all of the shares held by Pointbreak Namibia (Proprietary) Limited and Pointbreak Group Holdings (Proprietary) Limited in Pointbreak Equity (Proprietary) Limited, Pointbreak Wealth Management (Proprietary) Limited, Pointbreak Trusts and Estates (Proprietary) Limited and Pointbreak Investment Management (Proprietary) Limited, from Pointbreak Namibia (Proprietary) Limited and Pointbreak Group Holdings (Proprietary) (Transaction).
In acting as aforesaid, ESI settled all the agreements recording and governing the implementation of the Transaction from a Namibian Law perspective and advised FNB on all regulatory issues relating to the Transaction. ESI also assisted and advised FNB on the preparation and submission of the applicable competition filings with the Namibian Competition Commission and matters incidental thereto.
The team from ESI that acted as aforesaid were Jurie Badenhorst, Ivo dos Santos and Peter Johns.
