By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS (Reuters) – Societe Generale said on Friday it had agreed the sale to Moroccan conglomerate Saham Group of Société Générale Marocaine de Banques and La Marocaine Vie for 745 million euros ($797.45 million), as part of a wider divestment strategy, lifting its shares by more than 2%.
CEO Slawomir Krupa is looking to streamline France’s third-largest listed bank and focus on long-term value creation.
The Moroccan deal follows Thursday’s announcement that SocGen had agreed to sell its professional equipment financing business to French rival BPCE for 1.1 billion euros.
It provides for the sale of Societe Generale’s 57.67% stake in Société Générale Marocaine de Banques including its subsidiaries and a total divestment of stakes in the insurance company La Marocaine Vie held by Sogecap, SocGen’s life and savings insurance arm.
Saham Group will take over all activities of the companies, as well as all client portfolios and employees.
The deal will have an estimated positive effect of around 15 basis points on the group’s Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio upon completion of the transaction, which could take place by the end of 2024, the statement said.
The agreement is expected to have a negative accounting impact of approximately 75 million euros on the group’s first quarter 2024 results.
SocGen shares were up 3% at 26.01 euros as of 0712 GMT.
SocGen and Saham Group also agreed to enter a long-term business partnership that would allow Societe Generale’s corporate clients operating in Morocco to engage with a local banking partner.
($1 = 0.9342 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by Jason Neely)
