Sale of SSNIT shares in TTB to Ecobank transparent – SAS

Strategic African Securities (SAS) and its associates said on Friday that they acted professionally and in the best interest of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)  when it advised it on the TTB/ECOBANK merger.

“We did our work in a most transparent manner and there was no conflict of interest whatsoever,” SAS said in a statement in reaction to allegations pressure group, Association for Accountable Governance (AFAG), made at a press conference.

The statement said SAS was not aware of any valuation carried out by PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PWC) and that SSNIT never gave PWC a mandate to value the shares of TTB

It said SAS was also not aware of offers made by Swiss Investment Bank and the Rand Bank of South Africa and added “Our mandate was specific – to advise SSNIT on the ECOBANK/TTB merger.”

“TTB had very well-informed international shareholders who were represented on its Board. They would have brought this to our attention if indeed there was such an offer,” the statement said.

It said SAS adopted universally recognized methodologies in the valuation of TTB and got the best possible price for SSNIT, which is GH¢12.62/share.

The total valuation of GH¢220.85 million compares most favourably with the GH¢150 million market valuation of SG-SSB Bank which made GH¢23 million in 2011, same as AFAG quoted for TTB.

Source: GNA