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cautionary announcement:Barclays and Absa in discussion to combine African Operations
ABSA GROUP LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1986/003934/06)
ISIN: ZAE000067237
JSE share code: ASA
Issuer code: AMAGB
(Absa)
CAUTIONARY ANNOUNCEMENT: BARCLAYS AND ABSA IN DISCUSSIONS TO COMBINE
AFRICAN OPERATIONS
Shareholders are advised that in line with their strategy to operate
as One Bank in Africa, Barclays and its subsidiary Absa Group Limited
("Absa") are engaged in discussions about combining the majority of
the Barclays Africa operations with Absa ("the proposed
combination"). This is expected to involve the combination of
Barclays interests in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia and the Indian Ocean with Absa, with Barclays Bank PLC
remaining as the majority shareholder of the combined African
operations.
The listings of Barclays subsidiaries in Kenya, on the Nairobi
Securities Exchange, and in Botswana, on the Botswana Stock Exchange,
would be maintained. Only Barclays holdings in these listed
subsidiaries would be included in the proposed combination.
The proposed combination would be subject to, among other things, the
approval of the Boards of Barclays and Absa (the latter on the
recommendation of the independent members of the Absa Board), as well
as Absa shareholder approval and regulatory approvals in the relevant
jurisdictions.
There can be no certainty that these discussions will lead to a
combination. The proposed combination would not be expected to be
completed until 2013.
Whether or not successfully concluded, the proposed combination may
have a material effect on the price of Absa's shares. Accordingly,
shareholders are advised to exercise caution when dealing in Absa's
shares until a further announcement is made.
Johannesburg
21 August 2012
Lead Sponsor to Absa
J.P. Morgan Equities Limited
Joint Sponsor
Absa Capital
For further information, please contact:
Absa
Investor Relations
Alan Hartdegen
+27 (0) 11 350 2598
Media Relations
Maxwell Pirikisi
+27 (0) 11 350 4787
Barclays
Investor Relations
Charlie Rozes
+44 (0) 20 7116 5752
Media Relations
Giles Croot
+44 (0) 20 7116 6132
About Absa
Absa Group limited ("Absa Group"), the holding company of Absa Bank,
is listed on the JSE limited and is one of South Africa's largest
financial services groups offering a complete range of banking,
insurance and wealth management products and services. Absa Group's
business is conducted primarily in South Africa. It also has equity
holdings in banks in Mozambique and Tanzania, representative offices
in Namibia and Nigeria and bancassurance operations in Botswana,
Mozambique and Zambia. Absa Group is a subsidiary of Barclays PLC,
which currently holds a stake of 55.5%. For more information, please
visit the Absa website: www.absa.co.za
About Barclays
Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in
personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, and
wealth and investment management. With over 300 years of history and
expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and
employs approximately 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests
and protects money for customers and clients worldwide. For more
information, please visit the Barclays website:www.barclays.com
About Barclays in Africa
The businesses in scope for the proposed combination employ more than
8,000 people and have a network of more than 400 branches and 750
ATMs serving approximately 2.2 million customers. As at December
2011, the Barclays Africa businesses in scope for the proposed
combination had total assets of approximately GBP6 billion.
Date: 21/08/2012 08:00:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE').
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