Emerging Capital Partners sells stake in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

The sale followed Ecobank's successful listing in September 2006.

'The sale of ECP's position in Ecobank marks Africa Fund II's first exit from a highly successful venture in the African financial services market,' said Hurley Doddy, chief operating officer of ECP. 'Recent and upcoming regulatory reform has created tremendous opportunities for Ecobank, strengthening and expanding its market position in sub-Saharan Africa. ECP continues to see great potential in the African financial services sector, with Africa Fund II having already made four investments in banking and reinsurance companies.'

ECP's Africa Fund II continues to hold stakes in three additional financial services companies: a control position in Continental Reinsurance, a Nigerian reinsurance company which recently completed a successful listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange; African Financial Holdings, a banking group with eight subsidiaries across Africa operating under the Bank of Africa brand name; and Intercontinental Bank, a banking group in Nigeria.

Additionally, another ECP managed fund, the West Africa Growth Sicar, was an early investor in Ecobank. ECP managed the investment following its acquisition of the WAGS management company in 2005 and arranged a staggered exit, yielding a 4.4 times return on the fund's initial investment.

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