Ecobank buys Burkina cotton bank BAC-B for $20 mln

OUAGADOUGOU Aug 8 (Reuters) - African banking group Ecobank ETIT.LG has bought 90 percent of Banque Agricole Et Commerciale Du Burkina (BAC-B) from Burkina Faso for 8.55 billion CFA francs ($19.77 million), the government said.

BAC-B, founded in 1980 and renamed in 2002, extends some 30 billion CFA francs ($69 million) a year in credits to the country's farming sector, mainly to finance cotton cultivation.

Burkina Faso is West Africa's top cotton producer, and has privatised parts of the industry in recent years under programmes agreed with Western organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The disposal does not indicate any refusal by the state to play a part. The state has retained a 10 percent stake and will play a regulatory role," Burkina Faso's Economy and Finance Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated is one of Africa's fastest-growing banking groups with stock market listings in Nigeria ETIT.LG and on the Abidjan-based BRVM bourse serving French-speaking West Africa's CFA franc zone ETIT.CI.

The group also has separately listed subsidiaries, including in Nigeria ECOB.LG and Ghana (ETI.GH).

In May shareholders approved plans to raise up to $3 billion via an equity or debt offer through regional and international markets to finance continued expansion. They also approved continuing merger talks with Nigeria's First Bank FBNP.LG.

Ecobank has expanded from its West African base in recent years and its purchase of a 75 percent stake in Kenya's EABS in June extended its operations to 23 countries on the continent. (Reporting by Mathieu Bonkoungou; Writing by Alistair Thomson; Editing by Louise Ireland)