ACCRA (Reuters) - African bank Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) raised $566 million in its share and rights issue late last year, far short of the $2.5 billion targeted, a broker involved in the operation said on Wednesday. The Togo-based banking group launched the capital increase in August to fund its rapid expansion across Africa, calling it the biggest cross-border share issue on the continent. Ecobank initially said it expected the offer to be oversubscribed, but a global credit crunch and ensuing economic slowdown and fall in stock markets dampened investors' interest. The offer was extended by four weeks to October 31, officially to allow more time for last-minute subscriptions, but company officials said at the time that take-up of the offer had been slow. "During the launch of the ETI share offer ... we said we were targeting a minimum $400 million, so if we raised $566 million, we can say its successful," Seth Aryitey, head of SIC-FSL brokerage, which is involved in listing the new shares on Ghana's bourse, told Reuters. ETI launched the offer in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, where its shares are listed on separate bourses, as well as in some other countries where it operates. The new shares are expected to be listed on all three bourses soon after regulatory approval has been finalised. | 
