Atlas Mara Announces Potential Acquisition of Stake in BPR and Merger of BRD Commercial and BPR

TORTOLA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS--(Marketwired - Apr 27, 2015) - ATLAS Mara Limited (LSE: ATMA)

LSE: ATMA

27 April 2015

Atlas Mara announces potential acquisition of stake in BPR and merger of BRD Commercial and BPR

Atlas Mara Limited ("Atlas Mara" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it is in exclusive discussions to invest approximately $22.5 million in Banque Populaire du Rwanda ("BPR"), which, if successfully concluded, will result in Atlas Mara owning 45% of BPR. Following this transaction, Atlas Mara intends to merge BPR with BRD Commercial Bank Ltd. ("BRD Commercial"), the Rwandan bank Atlas Mara acquired in 2014. Atlas Mara will also purchase applicable secondary shares from local shareholders, resulting in the Company having a controlling stake of over 70% in the combined entity. The combined institution will be Rwanda's largest bank by branch locations and second largest bank by assets with combined assets of approximately $305 million.

BPR enjoys strong customer loyalty, given its roots as a customer-owned bank and its forty-year history. As of 31 December 2014, BPR had approximately $227 million of assets, $155 million in loans, $181 million in deposits and $23 million of equity. It has 191 branch locations and approximately 1,370 employees.

Atlas Mara is committed to working closely with BPR's existing shareholders, including Rabobank and local shareholders, to maintain the bank's focus on under-banked sectors, such as small- and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") and farmers. Given Rabobank's agricultural lending expertise and broad network of investments and operations in Africa and Atlas Mara's operational expertise and sub-Saharan African ambitions, Atlas Mara and Rabobank are enthusiastic about the potential to work together in other markets, as well.

BRD Commercial, having been carved out of the Development Bank of Rwanda Limited ("BRD"), has attracted a talented senior management team, who have been focused on establishing BRD Commercial's operations and executing its strategy of creating a well-capitalised, innovative, nimble, corporate and retail bank. This proposed combination represents a unique opportunity to merge BRD Commercial with the second largest bank in Rwanda and accelerate Atlas Mara's strategy in both Rwanda and the East Africa Community, more broadly. The merger will provide Atlas Mara with a powerful platform to meet unmet demand for corporate credit, leverage mobile technology to provide differentiated product offerings to the retail segment and address the under-banked, and to effect economies of scale and scope through integration and resulting cost synergies.