Old Mutual Seeks Further Stake in Nigerian Bank

January 27 - Old Mutual, considered the largest insurer on the African continent, said that it is considering increasing its stake in Nigeria's Oceanic Bank Plc.

A spokesman for Old Mutual said that the company had "been in discussions with various regulatory strategic partners, about various initiatives in relation to its investment, including potentially increasing it."

Last year, Nigeria's central bank needed to inject over $4 billion to bail out ten local banks in order to cover bad debts.

As a result, eight Chief Executive Officers were fired by the central bank, among them the CEO of Oceanic Bank.

In 2007, Old Mutual, together with Ethos, spend $130 million on stock to buy a stake in Oceanic Bank, earning each company a board seat.

Executives at the bank could not shed light on a potential increase in stakes.

The Old Mutual spokesman said: "Discussions are confidential, so we are not at liberty to provide any further details. There is no guarantee that anything will come out of these discussions."

The spokesman would not elaborate regarding the reason why Old Mutual chose to increase its stake in Oceanic Bank over others in Nigeria.

The Johannesburg based Ethos was also keeping mum on its intentions and would not say how much it owned in Oceanic Bank and whether it was considering increasing those stakes.

"Ethos does not discuss its intentions or action on any of its deals publicly," said the Head of Investor Relations for the group, Ngallah Chuphi.