Access Bank Backs Off Kenyan Bank Acquisition Deal

Access Bank has withdrawn its proposal of buying 83.4 percent shareholding in Kenyan Bank, Sidian Bank Limited.

This was made public by Access Holdings who were trading in the transaction as Access Corporation in a filling sent to notify the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Access Corporation had earlier in June 2022 announced that its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank had reached an agreement to acquire a large chunk of shares worth about $37million held by Centum Investment in the ownership of Sidian Bank.

The filling read “the completion of the proposed transaction was subject to fufillment or waiver of certain conditions before the Long Stop as defined in the agreement. Although regulator have all been supportive in engagements around the transaction, certain conditions precedent needed to prudently complete the transaction have not been met.”

Investors King gathered that Centum’s shares in Sidian Bank had fallen by 2.47 percent in December 2022, the most significant fall in Kenya’s stock market for the year.

Centum had said in their own statement that “the date has passed without all the conditions being fulfilled despite the support of the Central Bank of Kenya, Centum was not able to reach acceptable terms with Access Bank for extension of the share purchase agreement and therefore opted not to pursue extension.”

Access Bank, Nigeria’s biggest lender by assets had planned to double the share of assets outside its home market by 2027 and Kenya’s economy has been predicted to expand at a faster pace than Nigeria’s in coming years.

However, the Bank in its statement said it will continue to pursue its plan to buy more assets in Kenya and the East Africa.

“The bank remains, however, committed to growing its franchise in a safe and sound manner in Kenya and the broader East Africa community and will continue to explore a variety of organic and inorganic opportunities to grow.”

Access Bank had in 2019 acquired 94% of Kenyan lender Transnational Bank Limited.