Access Holdings Plc (NGX: ACCESSCORP) flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc and Standard Chartered Bank have entered into agreements relating to the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s majority shareholdings in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone, and its Consumer, Private & Business Banking (“CPBB”) business in Tanzania.
This was disclosed by Access Holdings in a filing with the Nigerian Exchange on Friday.
According to the document seen by Investogist, Access Bank has also entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of majority equity stake in African Banking Corporation (Tanzania) Limited
The Transactions, “present an opportunity for Access Bank to deepen its operations in existing and new countries of presence across Africa,’ and “are expected to be completed over the next 12 months,” the document read in part.
“In anticipation of completion of the Transactions Access Bank has made excellent progress in integration planning and will work in the coming months with Standard Chartered and BancABC Tanzania to ensure a seamless integration.”
“Tanzania’s banking regulator has granted its approval in favour of the BancABC Tanzania acquisition and further regulatory approvals are anticipated in due course for the Transactions, including from the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
Commenting on the Transactions, Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive of Access Holdings said: “The Transactions mark a significant leap forward for Access Bank and reinforces our strategy of strengthening our footprint across Sub-Saharan Africa to harness synergistic opportunities for sustainable income diversification and profitability. We remain committed to our five-year strategy, which envisions our banking subsidiary emerging as a true leader in banking services across the African continent”.
On his part, Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, said: “For Access Bank, these Transactions represent a key step in our journey to build a strong global franchise focused on serving as a gateway for payments, investment, and trade within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world as we continue to deliver on our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
