DLA Piper advises FirstRand Group on acquisition of Ghanaian GHL Bank

DLA Piper South Africa has advised FirstRand Bank Limited, the largest financial institution group in Africa, on the acquisition by its subsidiary, First National Bank Ghana Limited (FNB Ghana), of GHL Bank Plc (GHL Bank) from Harborough Limited. The transaction is unconditional and was effective from 4 May 2020.

GHL Bank is one of Ghana’s leading providers of mortgage financing and it is the intention to bring both banks under the FNB Ghana name in order to strengthen and consolidate its presence in Ghana.

DLA Piper has also advised the FirstRand Group on its other acquisitions made over the past two years, which include UK-based Aldermore Bank, Namibia’s Pointbreak Group and EBank.

The DLA Piper South Africa team was led by Johannes Gouws (director, country managing partner), and comprised of Hendré Human (in his previous capacity as director) and Rakhee Singh (senior associate).  The DLA Piper Africa, Ghana (Reindorf Chambers) team comprised of Fui Tsikata (senior partner) and Dominic Quashigah (senior associate).

Johannes Gouws said “This is the fifth bank acquisition the South Africa office has been involved in since our establishment in 2016.  It is a clear illustration of the specialist skill our team has developed in this area and demonstrates the experience that we can bring in helping support our clients achieve their goals in South Africa and abroad by providing a seamless service across jurisdictions.”