Crédit Agricole CIB sells remaining stake in Banque Saudi Fransi for €332m

Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB) has completed the sale of its remaining 4% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi (BSF) for SAR1.45 billion (€332m) to a couple of Saudi Arabian government-related institutional investors.

The deal was closed after the French bank secured all the regulatory approvals.

The two Saudi investors paid SAR30 per share for the stake, said Crédit Agricole CIB.

Jacques Ripoll – CEO of Crédit Agricole CIB said: “Crédit Agricole CIB remains highly confident in Saudi Arabia’s economic perspectives, in the wake of Vision 2030, and plans to further develop its direct presence to extend its activities in the country. Crédit Agricole CIB has initiated a process to apply for a license that will enable it to operate on Saudi capital markets.”

Crédit Agricole CIB sells remaining stake in Banque Saudi Fransi for €332m. Photo courtesy of Luc Bernard/Wikipedia.org.

Crédit Agricole had maintained a stake in Banque Saudi Fransi for decades, but in recent years, it had been disposing of the shares, reported The National.

In 2019, the French banking group wrapped up the sale of a 6% stake in Banque Saudi Fransi to Ripplewood Advisors. Prior to that, in April 2019, Crédit Agricole sold a 4.9% stake to the same US-based buyer.

About three years ago, the French bank raised $1.54 billion from the sale of a 16.2% stake to Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.