•Bolaji Agbede
Access Bank Plc, the flagship subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc, has entered into a binding agreement with Kenyan-based KCB Group Plc (KCB) for the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) from KCB.
NBK is one of Kenya’s major banks with total assets in excess of $1.1 billion. KCB is also the holding company of KCB Bank Ltd, Kenya’s largest commercial bank.
The parties will be working together in the coming months to fulfil the conditions precedent relating to the Transaction, which include the regulatory approvals of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Central Bank of Kenya, reports The Nation.
Sequel to the completion of the transaction, NBK would be combined with Access Bank Kenya Plc to create an enlarged franchise in the pursuit of Access Bank’s strategic objective for the Kenyan and East African markets.
In a regulatory filing yesterday, Access Holdings, stated that the proposed acquisition was in furtherance of its African expansion strategy and will reposition Access Bank as a stronger and significant player in the Kenyan market whilst serving as a regional hub for the East African bloc anchored by a solidified balance sheet.
Acting Group Chief Executive Officer, Access Holdings Plc, Ms. Bolaji Agbede said the proposed acquisition marks a significant step in the execution of the group’s five-year strategic plan aimed at positioning the bank as Africa’s gateway to the world.
“The deal with NBK, a historically strong and well-known bank in Kenya with a balance sheet in excess of $1.1 billion, presents a compelling opportunity to scale up our growth in the East African market. We remain confident that our investments towards diversifying and strengthening the bank’s long-term earnings profile will deliver significant value for our shareholders, customers, and wider stakeholder groups,” Agbede said.
The latest transaction comes on the heels of recent other acquisitions talks. Access Bank had sealed a deal to acquire the majority equity stake of about 80 per cent in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank (FTB).
The deal will see Access Bank concurrently acquiring the shares held by FTB’s Institutional Shareholders who have sought to exit to a strategic, long-term shareholder.
The transaction is, however, subject to regulatory approvals by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Uganda. It is expected to close in the first half of the year, following the fulfilment of customary conditions precedent.
Following the anticipated closing of the transaction, Access Bank would own an estimated 80 per cent shareholding in FTB.
Access Bank had earlier this year completed the acquisition of Atlas Mara Zambia in a major move that uplifted the Access Bank Zambia to one of the top five banks in Zambia.
With the completion of acquisition, Atlas Mara Zambia, otherwise known as African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Access Bank Zambia (Access Zambia).
Access Zambia is a subsidiary of Access Bank Plc, the flagship subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc.
Access Holdings had indicated that the integration of Atlas Mara Zambia into the operations of Access Zambia is underway. The integration of the two banks will make Access Zambia one of the top five banks in the country.
Access Bank had also recently partnered with Visa, the world leader in digital payments, to enhance the efficiency of cross-border business-to-business payments, a partnership that will facilitate cross-border payments to some 110 countries globally.
Access Bank’s corporate, commercial and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) customers will be able to adopt Visa B2B Connect platform to send and receive payments to and from 110 countries worldwide in a faster, more efficient and more secured way, thus facilitating seamless global business operations.
