An existing shareholder of Unity Bank Plc has acquired the 34% equity stake previously held by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), marking a critical step toward the bank’s approved merger with Providus Bank Limited.
The transaction, executed as a crossed (block) deal on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) trading floor on September 25, 2025, involved approximately 4 billion ordinary shares (4,000,612,763 shares) of Unity Bank (ticker: UNITYBK) at ₦1.66 per share, valuing the deal at over ₦6.64 billion.
The deal, one of three block trades for Unity Bank shares recorded that day, facilitates the ongoing merger process, which received shareholder approval on September 26, 2025, during a court-ordered meeting.
AMCON’s divestment of its 34.22% stake, held since its 2011 intervention to stabilise Unity Bank, removes a key regulatory barrier, paving the way for final approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The merger is part of broader efforts to meet the CBN’s ₦500 billion capital requirement for commercial banks by March 2026.
While initial speculation pointed to Providus Bank as a potential buyer, sources confirm the acquirer was an existing Unity Bank shareholder, strengthening the merger’s structural foundation. The NGX briefly lifted Unity Bank’s share suspension to facilitate the trade, with the bank’s market capitalisation now hovering around ₦19 billion.
Administrator and Writer
