Access Holdings moves to acquire Kenya National Bank, a holding company of KCB Bank Ltd, the largest commercial bank in Kenya.
The deal will see Access Holdings 100% acquisition of the Kenyan national bank from KCB which is also the holding.
Sunday Ekwochi, Access holdings Secretary said the transaction is in furtherance of the Bank’s African expansion strategy and will reposition it as a stronger and significant player in the Kenyan market whilst serving as a regional hub for East Africa.
The parties would 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 and the Central Bank of Kenya.
The Acting Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Access Holdings Plc, Bolaji Agbede, said, “This proposed acquisition marks a significant step in the execution of our five-year strategic plan aimed at positioning the Bank as Africa’s Gateway to the World.
ALSO READ: CBN Announces Increase in Foreign Remittances amid Forex Reforms
“The deal with NBK, a historically strong and well-known bank in Kenya with a balance sheet in excess of US$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.”
The bank whose Group CEO, Herbert Wigwe, died in a helicopter crash on February 9, 2024, returned its immediate past group CEO, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, as group Chairman in March.
Access Holdings Plc reportedly operates through a network of more than 600 branches across the globe in 18 countries and over 60 million customers.
Kenya’s KCB Group has accepted a binding offer from Access Group for all the shares of its subsidiary National Bank of Kenya, its group chief executive said. The deal, which will be valued at 1.25 times the book value, is expected to close in the next six to nine months, Paul Russo, KCB Group’s CEO, said at an investors briefing.
