Yerim Sow's holding sells $118M stake in Bridge Bank ahead of Abidjan listing
What's the deal? Bridge Bank Group Côte d'IvoireDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → begins trading on West Africa's regional stock exchange on September 24, after Bridge Group West Africa (BGWA) — the financial holding through which Senegalese billionaire Yerim Sow controls the lender — sold a fifth of its capital for 67.5 billion CFA francs, about $118 million.
The numbers: The shares will list under the ticker BBGC at a reference price of 6,750 CFA francs, roughly $11.80. That values the bank at 337.5 billion CFA francs, or about $590 million.
Who sold, what they kept: BGWA, Sow's Teyliom Group financial arm, was the sole seller. It cut its stake from 77% to 57%, worth about $336 million at the offer price. Sow and Teyliom Group sold nothing directly, and the state social security fund CNPS kept its 20%.
Why now? Demand was heavy. The offer opened on July 20, was scheduled to run until August 6, but closed on July 21. Orders totalled 95.8 billion CFA francs against 67.5 billion on offer — a 142% subscription rate, leaving excess demand of about $49.5 million.
The retail angle: A total of 17,544 investors across four continents took part. Individuals accounted for 58% of the amount subscribed, an unusually high retail share for a West African bank listing.
What's unclear: The offer covered 10 million existing shares, so the proceeds went to BGWA as the seller rather than into the bank's capital. Ecofin Agency reports the money will help fund the bank's expansion, digital investment, and business lending — a claim that sits awkwardly with a pure secondary sale unless BGWA passes proceeds down. Bridge Securities, which arranged the deal, has published no breakdown.
Who Yerim Sow is: Sow, founder and chairman of Teyliom Group, is Senegal's richest man and one of the most private large fortunes in francophone West Africa. He founded Bridge Bank GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in Abidjan in 2006 with Pape Diouf, building on capital from selling his stake in Loteny Telecom to MTN GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in late 2005.
The signal: A fully secondary sale that closed in a day, with retail investors driving most of the demand, points to appetite for bank equity on the regional exchange — and gives a private billionaire a public valuation without diluting the underlying business.
Read more: billionaires.africa
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
