In a bid to consolidate on its expansion plans across the African continent and beyond, Nigeria’s largest lender, Access Bank Plc has announced that its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Access Bank Mozambique S.A, has completed the acquisition of African Banking Corporation (Mozambique).
This is according to a disclosure signed by the company’s secretary, Sunday Ekwochi and seen by naijabusiness.com.ng
Confirming the recent development, the GMD/CEO of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe said: ‘’We are pleased with the completion of this acquisition which significantly strengthens our banking franchise in Mozambique and represents a transformational step in our growth plans in the country and the broader Southern Africa region. We are building the scale necessary to complete effectively and efficiently in key African markets outside Nigeria and ensure we sustainably deliver strong return on invested capital in our African expansion. Scale is an important contributor to returns and this transaction is consistent with our rigorous efforts to create a strong presence with scale across Africa, and in line with our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.’’
Sequel to the completion of the deal, all is now set to integrate and merge BancABC Mozamibque operations with Access Bank Mozambique. Naijabusiness.com.ng understands that the deal is expected to create the seventh largest bank in the Mozambican banking market.
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Recall that Access Bank Plc had earlier announced the acquisition of BancABC Bostwana for an undisclosed amount of about 1.13 times the book value plus a two-year deferred payment. This is sequel to earlier acquisitions in some other African countries, e.g., it paid $60 million to acquire a major stake in South Africa’s Grobank, and also announced the acquisition of Zambian Cavmont Bank among others.
The acquisitions are a demonstration of the unrelenting drive by Access Bank to be a pan-African bank, expanding its network of branches across the continent. This is a big boost in combating unemployment in the continent and creating local value.
