African banking: Barclays and Absa fall out over bank sales

The sale of Barclays’ African businesses, comprising Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, to Absa was supposed to be a key pillar behind the UK bank’s investment in 2005 in the South African lender. But in late February the deal fell through as neither side could agree on the valuation. “There’s a big gap between the price we’re willing to pay and the price Barclays is willing to accept,” said Steve Booysen, Absa’s chief executive, during a televised presentation, without elaborating on the differences in valuation.