Africa's leading Pan-African banking group, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, is currently planning a N210 billion ($1.75 billion) expansion for its operations across the continent.

This represents 70 per cent of the total amount it projects to raise from its on-going public offer and rights issue which opened on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Ghana Stock Exchange and Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres (BRVM), the regional stock exchange in Abidjan on August 25.

According to the offers' prospectus, about N168 billion ($1.4 billion) would be used to raise the capital base of its existing 500 branches in 25 countries across Africa.

The bank also has plans to capture new markets, an ambition to which it has earmarked about N42 billion ($350 million) of the N300 billion (US$2.5 billion) it intends to raise from investors across Africa and beyond.

Other projects such as acquisitions, technology and process upgrade are planned to gulp about N60.2 billion ($502 million) while the remaining N14.88 billion ($124 million) is expected to account for the costs incurred in floating the offer.

The offer which closes on October 3, 2008 gives investors the opportunity of grabbing almost four billion (3.76 billion) ordinary shares at N32.40k ($0.27) per share in rights issue while the offer for subscription stands at over five billion (5.11 billion) at N34.80k ($0.29) per share.

The rights issue represents 40 per cent of the offer and is made available to existing shareholders on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every nine ordinary shares held as at August 18, 2008.

The company said that any share, either in the rights issue or offer for subscription, which is not taken up would afterwards be offered through an international offering in the form of Global Depository Receipts, which may eventually be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The envisaged international offer is expected to have a different timetable and may as well, have different purchase prices from the rights issue and offer for subscription.

Investigations show that the authorised shares of the company stands at 50 billion units 6,774,767,965 of which are issued shares. As rights issue, 3,763,759,981 units are offered while 5,116,499,328 are placed on offer for subscription. About N300 billion ($2.5 billion) is expected to be raised from the offer.

Offer expenses are estimated at N14.88 billion ($124 million), representing 4.96 per cent of the amount to be raised. Issues such as legal and financial due diligence, valuations, certifications, marketing, publicity, logistics and other direct costs are expected to account for these expenses.

Ecobank is part of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a parent company which operates as a bank holding company with 32 operating subsidiaries involved in commercial banking, investment banking and information technology.

The bank has about 8,000 professional employees from 27 African countries and it has subsidiaries in 25 West, Central, Eastern and Southern African countries. Total assets of the bank were in the region of US$7 billion as at June 2008.