Ansa Merchant buys Baroda TT

Ansa Merchant Bank is set to acquire the Trinidad operations of Indian state-owned financial services group, Bank of Baroda (BoB).

On Wednesday, Ansa Merchant – a member of the Ansa McAl Group – announced it had signed a share purchase agreement for 100 per cent interest in Bank of Baroda TT Ltd, amounting to 525,597 shares.

It did not disclose the value of the deal.

International financial advisers, Miami-based BroadSpan Capital and Singhi Advisors of India oversaw negotiations for the share purchase agreement, which was signed on Wednesday.

Baroda TT has branches in San Fernando, Port of Spain and Chaguanas. It opened its first branch in Port of Spain, on October 17, 2007.

Ansa Merchant chairman Norman Sabga said the acquisition would improve the bank's position in the financial services sector, especially in retail, corporate, investment, asset and wealth management services.

He said the bank is "enthusiastic about the prospects for the future" for its clients.

Ansa Merchant first expressed an interest in buying Baroda TT in February. The Central Bank has to approve the sale.

The Economic Times reported BoB did not anticipate any challenges to its exit from Trinidad.

"We have had a long and successful tenure in Trinidad and Tobago and will look forward to a disruption-free service to our valued customers in that market," BoB executive director Murali Ramaswami, said in a statement.

In September reports in the Indian media disclosed that BoB was closing its TT and Ghanaian subsidiaries, as part of a strategy to “rationalise international operations.”

Indian financial news outlet LiveMint reported then that it was the first time an Indian state-owned bank was selling its international units. Total business between the Ghana and TT operations was estimated to be less than US$150 million.

LiveMint reported that TT and Ghana were not core to the bank’s business.

Earlier this year, BoB closed its Bahrain branch, and has since closed its Bahamas branch. It also had to shut down South African operations after loans it made to three Indian-origin businessmen came under scrutiny after the men were implicated in allegations of money laundering.

BoB is an Indian public sector banking and financial services company with assets worth US$225 billion.