By Eric Ojo
Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest lender, Access Bank PLC, has reassured that in spite of the discontinuation of its Sidian Bank acquisition, it is poised to deepen its presence in the Kenya market.
The discontinuation ends Access Bank PLC’s binding agreement with Centum to acquire the entire 83.4 percent shareholding held by the investment company in Sidian Bank Ltd.
The bank has cited the failure to fulfil some requisite conditions as the reason for calling off the proposed acquisition of Sidian Bank.
According to a statement issued by the Bank’s parent company Access Corporation to the Nigerian Exchange Ltd, the completion of the proposed transaction was subject to fulfilment or waiver of certain conditions before the Long Stop date as defined in the transaction agreement.
Although regulators have all been supportive in engagements around the transaction, certain conditions precedent including those required of Sidian Bank which were needed to prudently complete the transaction have not been met and the parties were unable to reach an agreement on the variation of these conditions in a manner to deliver the desired outcome for the parties
“Consequently, we hereby notify the Nigerian Exchange Ltd and the investing public that the Sidian acquisition will no longer be completed by the Bank”, the statement said.
This development, however, will not affect Access Bank’s drive to promote regional trade finance and other cross-border banking services in the East African Community (EAC) and broader COMESA region as it works towards its vision to be Africa’s gateway to the world.
To this end, Access Bank reassures stakeholders of its commitment to pursue responsible opportunities to expand its footprint in Kenya – which represents the largest market and trade corridor in East Africa.
The statement which was signed by Company Secretary of Access Holdings PLC, Sunday Ekwochi added that the Bank remains committed to growing its franchise in a safe and sound manner in Kenya and the broader East African Community and will continue to explore a variety of organic and inorganic opportunities to grow its market share therein.
Recall that Access Bank already made a strategic entry into the highly-competitive Kenyan financial ecosystem through the acquisition of Transnational Bank Plc of Kenya (now Access Bank Kenya) in 2020.
Other notable strategic expansion executed by Access Bank in recent years include acquiring the defunct Diamond Bank Plc in 2018, a process completed in 2019. In 2021 the Bank announced the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited and merged its existing operations in Zambia following the acquisition
The bank also completed the acquisition of Grobank of South Africa in 2021, and in the same year completed the acquisition of about 78.15 percent holding in African Banking Corporation of Botswana Limited.
Access Bank’s expansion drive promises great value for stakeholders and presents enormous opportunities to support the growth of trade and payment ecosystem.
The bank also encourages and delivers sustainable, profitable, environmentally responsible, and socially relevant economic growth. The Bank has been an industry leader in retail banking and sustainable development and has thus impacted thousands of consumers across Africa.
