International legal practice Norton Rose LLP has advised Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank), on a US$100 million subscription of equity shares in the pan-African bank by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

The investment from the IFC is the latest deal in a fundraising programme by Ecobank which has seen Nedbank, Public Investment Corporation of South Africa and IFC invest a total of US$635 million in Ecobank over the last six months.

The investment is targeted at strengthening Ecobank's capital base, scaling up in key markets and expanding its operations across its network of 32 African countries.

Norton Rose LLP partner Glenn Hall led teams advising Ecobank on all three transactions.

Glenn Hall, partner at Norton Rose LLP, commented:

“Inward investment to Africa continues to be one of the trends driving the global economy. The scale of this latest fundraising by Ecobank, and the interest it has generated from global financial institutions, is testament to the ongoing appetite there is for investment into the continent.

“For our part, it was particularly pleasing to work with Ecobank on this fundraising. We continue to have a highly active practice across Africa, a strength which was grown last year with the addition to the Group of Norton Rose South Africa and the opening of our new office in Morocco.”

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