Renaissance Capital (www.rencap.com), the Russian emerging-markets bank with operations in Africa, plans to expand next year into Egypt and at least 3 other African countries, according to a 5 October interview published on Bloomberg. Rencap says on its website that its core businesses areas are Mergers & Acquisitions, equity and debt capital markets, securities sales and trading, research, and derivatives. It says it is building “market-leading practices across emerging markets globally in metals & mining, oil & gas and agriculture.”.
Clifford Sacks, CEO of the South African unit and head of Pan-African Equities, told Bloomberg from Johannesburg the bank may buy or start a brokerage in Egypt that would also cover Morocco and Tunisia. Hasnen Varawalla, global head of corporate finance, added that it also plans to move into Angola, Uganda and Rwanda. Rencap is bsed in Moscow, and currently operates in African nations including Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa Zambia and Zimbabwe. Bloomberg quotes Varawalla: “Each of these countries will see a huge development in their capital markets. We are looking to expand into another 5 or 6 countries in Africa.”
The bank is half-owned by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. It started its African business in 2007. According to Bloomberg last year it participated in 24 transactions across 13 African countries, including the $955 million sale of Central African Mining & Exploration Co. to Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. Africa accounts for a quarter of RenCap’s investment-banking business. Varawalla told Bloomberg that Non-Russian activities will generate more than 50% of revenue within 2 to 3 years.
In July, it paid ZAR207 million (then US$27.3 million) to acquire BJM Securities, the brokerage business of South Africa’s Barnard Jacobs Mellet (BJM) Group. A press release by Rencap describes BJM: “Founded in 1985, BJM Securities is the leading independent full service broker-dealer in South Africa. The firm is known for its outstanding research franchise, having been ranked No.1 in South African research surveys.
The Firm entered South Africa in February 2010 and appointed Clifford Sacks. The press release quotes him: “The combination of a leading independent brokerage in South Africa with award-winning research franchise and Renaissance Capital’s unparalleled expertise in capital markets and M&A, complemented by our unique access to global emerging markets creates a powerful platform across research, sales and trading in Africa’s largest economy.”