Unity Bank Denies Milost Pact, Distances Itself From Threats
- Milost says Unity pulled out of binding $1 Billion Deal
- Milost says it received threats over its talks with Unity
The head office of Unity Bank in Abuja, Nigeria in 2015.
Photographer: George Osodi/Bloomberg
Unity Bank Plc, a Nigerian lender, denied entering a binding agreement with private-equity firm Milost Global Inc. over a potential $1 billion investment, saying talks were only preliminary and didn’t come with any commitments.
New York-based Milost this week said it terminated talks to provide debt and equity funding to Unity, saying it received threats that it will be run out of the country if the deal continues. The firm said a term sheet was signed in September and approved by the board of Unity, which needed the capital to strengthen its balance sheet and to expand. Milost said it would ultimately have acquired 60 percent in the Lagos-based bank.