Access Holdings Sets to Acquire National Bank of Kenya
Access Holdings has revealed its intention to acquire the National Bank of Kenya in what marks its initial significant transaction following the passing of Herbert Wigwe.
This move follows a prior media report on the proposed sale of the National Bank of Kenya by KCB.
An insider from Economic Confidential reported that, as per a corporate disclosure on the NGX website, Access Bank Plc, a prominent subsidiary of Access Holdings, is set to acquire the complete issued share capital of National Bank of Kenya Limited from KCB.
Access Bank stated that it 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” or ‘the Target’’) from KCB. KCB is also the holding company of KCB Bank Ltd, Kenya’s largest commercial bank.
The bank said this is in line with Access Bank’s strategic expansion initiative and is poised to solidify its presence in the Kenyan market.
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Bolaji Agbede, the Acting Group CEO of Access Holdings Plc, while speaking on the transaction, state that…
“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. 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.”
This will be Access Corporation’s first acquisition since the demise of its former GMD/CEO Herbert Wigwe, suggesting the bank will continues with its inorganic aggressive growth model.
Report revealed that: The bank reported a third quarter loss of about Ksh 3 billion ($22.5 million) in September 2023.
The bank also has a net equity of Ksh 10.6 billion ($79.6 million) at the end of September 2023.
A closer look at the results also shows the bank carries a retained loss of about Ksh 7.9 billion ($59.3 million)
