Standard Bank To Buy The Rest Of Liberty

Standard Bank has offered to pay R219.25 per share to Liberty Holdings for the 40.83 % of the shares that it does not yet hold in the company.

Standard Bank Buys Liberty Standard Bank have taken the plunge and purchased the remaing share options Liberty Life Sell Division As expected Liberty has been absorbed by STD Bank

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Liberty Holdings has majority ownership of Liberty Group Ltd, South Africa's third biggest insurer and Standard Bank has used its influence in Liberty Holdings to control the Liberty Group since 1999, although this practice has drawn a lot of criticism from shareholders for its lack of transparency.

Standard Bank's offer to buy the remaining shares in Liberty Holdings came via email this week, and stands at 23% higher than the current value of the company's shares. The deal is worth R4.4 billion, or $570 million.

An expert said about Standard Bank's offer: "It's a fair offer and a good transaction. They've been under pressure for some time to collapse the control structure of Liberty. It's better from a corporate governance perspective."

In its statement, Standard Bank said that it would be funding the deal from the sale of its 20% stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, valued at R36.7 billion. The bank's Chief Executive Officer, Jacko Maree said that "Standard Bank has the necessary capital resources to finance the purchase of additional shares in Liberty Holdings without reducing the growth potential of the group's banking operations."

If the deal is accepted, Liberty Holdings will make up 11% of Standard Bank's profits, an increase from 7% according to 2007 earnings.

A money manager at Coronation Fund Managers said that having total control of Liberty Holdings may have a positive impact on the sale of insurance products through Standard Bank's branches. "The bancassurance model makes a lot of sense for them," he said.