BGFI Holding Corporation, a Gabonese financial institution, is set to raise $200 million from the first-ever initial public offering in the central African region. With the IPO, the group will become the first central African multinational to list on the sub-region’s stock exchange (BVMAC).
The group is the parent group of BGFI Bank Group, the largest Gabonese bank in terms of assets. This raise will be the first Initial Public Offering (IPO) to be carried out on the Bourse des Valeurs Mobilières de l’Afrique Centrale (BVMAC), the central African stock exchange.
According to an exclusive disclosure made to BusinessDay, the move includes a nominal value split followed by an IPO. The share split was approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on June 25, 2025. This share split will see the nominal value of the group’s shares from XAF 90,000 (approximately $150) to XAF 10,000 ($16.70), effectively multiplying the number of outstanding shares by a factor of nine.
Prior to the split, BGFI Holding has 1,573,536 shares in circulation. Post-split, that number will increase to 14,161,824 shares, while total market capitalization remains unchanged at XAF 141.6 billion ($236 million). According to the disclosure, the primary aim of the split is to make the unit’s share price more accessible to a broader range of investors and to improve the liquidity of the company’s stock.
Read also: GTCO surges to N122 per share on London Stock Exchange
Following the restructuring, BGFI Holding will proceed with a public offering of 1,573,536 newly created shares, representing 10% of its expanded capital. The IPO is priced at XAF 80,000 per share (approximately $130), targeting a total raise of XAF 125.9 billion ($200 million). It is noted that the offering is structured to attract new investors, as existing shareholders have waived their preferential subscription rights in line with Article 586 of the OHADA Uniform Act.
The IPO imposes a minimum subscription of 10 shares per investor and caps individual subscriptions at 7,867 shares. Notably, 2 percent of the offering, or 31,470 shares, have been reserved for employees of the BGFIBank Group. Also, the IPO is expected to run for two months, from July 31 to September 30, 2025.
After the IPO, the shareholding of the largest single strategic shareholder, Sogafric Holding, is expected to decline marginally from 10 percent to 9 percent. The stake held by the group’s employees is also expected to fall to 9 percent.
Purpose of the raise
The capital raise is aimed at raising fresh capital to support the Group’s ambitious growth plans. With the proceeds, it intends to reduce reliance on bank debt and bolster the equity positions of its various subsidiaries.
Read also: Telcos bet on IPOs to catch fintechs’ mobile money race
It is also noted that the fund will finance the expansion of operations across its footprint in Africa. Apart from the BFGI Bank in Gabon, the group owns subsidiaries in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, DR Congo, Benin, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Madagascar, and France. It also owns non-banking subsidiaries such as Hedenia and the BFGIBank Business School.
In FY 2024, the BGFI Bank Group recorded a net income of $203 million, with its operating income hitting $238 million. With a total asset of $9.92 billion, the bank is the largest bank in the Central African region. With a return on equity of 21 percent, the bank is also one of the most profitable in the region.
The countries that are in the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) include Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, the DR Congo, and Chad.
