Access Corporation Halts Acquisition of Kenyan Sidian Bank
Access Corporation has discontinued its planned acquisition of the 83.4 percent shareholding of Centum Investment Plc in Kenyan Sidian Bank Limited.
This was consequent on inability of parties to agree on continuing the deal.
Although the conditions were not stated, the transaction if completed could have cost Access Holdings Plc, $36.7 million or Ksh 4.3 billion.
Access Holdings Plc had June 8, 2022, announced that its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank had entered into a binding agreement with the Kenyan-based Centum Investment Plc for the acquisition of its 83.4 per cent equity in the Kenyan bank.
Sunday Ekwochi, the company secretary on Thursday stated that Access Corp will no longer complete the transaction owing to the inability to meet certain conditions required in the sale agreement.
The completion of the proposed transaction had been hinged on certain conditions before the Long Stop date as defined by the transaction agreement.
Despite the support of the respective regulators, Ekwochi said they could not agree on the variation of these conditions in a manner to deliver the desired outcomes for both parties.
The bank, according to Ekwochi will remain committed to growing its franchise in a safe and sound manner in Kenya and in the broader East African community and will continue exploring a variety of organic and inorganic opportunities to grow its market share therein.
Access bank’s interest in Sidian Bank was spurred by the Kenyan financial institution’s grip on the country’s small and medium enterprises and trade finance which had helped grow its balance sheet from $162.2 million (Ksh 19 billion) in 2012 to $256.2 million (Ksh30 billion) at the end of March 2022.
The discontinuation of the planned acquisition of Sidian Bank, therefore, limits Access corporation’s footprints in Kenya to only the Transnational bank of Kenya, which it acquired 99.98 per cent of its equity in February 2020 for $12.8 million or Ksh 1.56 billion.
Access Bank had planned to consolidate Sidian with Access Bank Kenya (formerly Transnational Bank) to create a stronger banking institution and push it into becoming a Tier 2 bank in Kenya.
Access Bank Plc. is a leading full-service commercial bank operating through a network of more than 600 branches and service outlets, spanning three continents, and 18 countries, with over 49 million customers. It has in its employs, 28,000 people in its operations in Nigeria and has subsidiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa and the United Kingdom (with a branch in Dubai, UAE) and representative offices in China, Lebanon, and India.