LEOPARD Cambodia Fund (LCF) has acquired a 1.47 percent stake in ACLEDA Bank, it announced Monday.

The investment fund, together with two foreign investors, bought a 7.72 percent stake in the ACLEDA Staff Association Plc (ASA) at an undisclosed cost Friday, according to a statement.

According to LCF’s Monday press release, the purchase of ASA shares can be converted into a 1.47 percent stake in ACLEDA bank. The book value of the stake is about US$8.17 million, but Leopard did not announce the purchase price.

“We are excited to invest in ASA, which provides exposure to ACLEDA Bank, one of Cambodia’s most respected financial institutions and strongest local brands. It has a nationwide branch network,” Leopard Capital’s CEO Douglas Clayton said in the statement.

He declined, via email, to name the partner investors, saying they preferred to remain “low-profile”.

Svay Hay, chairman of ASA and vice president and head of capital market division at ACLEDA, said Monday that the purchase deal was completed on Friday. “It’s great to have a partner like Leopard Capital,” he said.

In December, Jardine Matheson announced it intended to buy a 12.25 per cent share in ACLEDA from FMO, the international development bank of the Netherlands, for an undisclosed sum.

Prom Visoth, senior vice president and head of legal and corporate affairs division at ACLEDA, said Monday that all the internal paper work for the purchase deal has been completed and was submitted to the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) last week.

“The NBC promised to give approval this week and after which it will be filed for registration at the Ministry of Commerce. The process should be finished around mid-March,” he said.