M and A
Bob Diamond's Investment Firm Wins Over Big Backers - Including Morgan Stanley

Almost two years on since he resigned as chief executive of Barclays, it appears that Robert Diamond is continuing to make waves at his new berth of Atlas Mara Co-Nvest, the investment vehicle he is involved in that focuses on Africa.
More than two years on since he resigned as chief executive of
Barclays it appears that Robert Diamond is continuing to make
waves at his new berth of Atlas Mara Co-Nvest, the investment
vehicle he is involved in that focuses on Africa.
According to Bloomberg, the firm which seeks to
fund financial services acquisitions in the continent, now counts
Trafigura Beheer – the commodities trader - and Morgan Stanley
among its largest shareholders.
Trafigura owns more than 6 per cent of Atlas Mara’s stock,
according to its most recent regulatory filing, the news service
said, while the US investment firm holds 5.4 per cent. Other
shareholders include US investment companies Wellington
Management Co and Janus Capital Management, as well as Diamond
himself, with a 2.3 per cent stake, it said.
Atlas Mara was listed on the London Stock Exchange late in
August, raising $325 million in an initial public offering in
December last year.
A few days previously it was reported that Atlas Mara is looking for more acquisitions in Southern Africa after buying lenders in Botswana and Rwanda.
The involvement with Atlas Mara has seen Diamond, who left the UK
bank in July 2012, revive his career. He resigned as CEO of the
bank as the lender became engulfed in the LIBOR-rigging scandal,
a saga that has also seen a number of other banks be hit by
regulators. Diamond was renowned or, depending on one’s
viewpoint, infamous, for a hard-charging style of management that
was associated with the buccaneering excesses of investment
banking in the years leading to the 2008 crisis.