- Access, Diamond Merger to Get all Regulators’ Approvals
Access Bank and Diamond Bank Plc will need to await the approval of all regulators concerned in their proposed merger arrangement before they can conclude their merger deal.
According to the banks, all the regulators concerned have already been notified of their plans to merge.
The banks had disclosed their plans to merge, following the approval in principle which they were given by the Central Bank of Nigeria, after notifying the apex bank of their plan.
A top official of Access Bank, who spoke to our correspondent, said, “The announcement of our merger plan was made after the CBN gave us an approval in principle. We have informed the Security and Exchange Commission; they are aware but we have yet to get all the other necessary approvals.
“For the final merger, we need the approval of the Security and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Stock Exchange; we need to hold shareholders meeting, court ordered meeting. All the regulators are aware of the proposed merger while we wait for their final approval.”
In a press briefing recently in Lagos, the Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, said the bank had finalised plans to raise $250m Tier 11 capital.
Wigwe said the bank’s customer base would hit 29 million after the merger with Diamond Bank Plc.
He said, “Access Bank has already finalised terms and obtained regulatory approvals for a Tier II capital issuance, which will raise $250m, available for drawdown in January 2019.
“Access Bank has also obtained “No objection” from the Central Bank of Nigeria to undertake a rights issue to raise up to N75bn ($ 207m) in H1 2019. Shareholder and other regulatory approvals will be obtained before the offer opens. This accelerates the capital management plan to support retail growth, previously set out in the bank’s five-year strategy.”
