Business
Access acquires commercial bank from Union Bank’s parent company
Herbert Wigwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, has completed another acquisition outside the shores of Nigeria after sealing the deal to takeover African Banking Corporation, which is situated in Mozambique.
The Southern African lender was acquired from Atlas Mara Limited, an investment company which owns Union Bank of Nigeria. Access Bank plans to merge African Banking Corporation with its subsidiary in Mozambique.
The value of the deal wasn’t disclosed, but the acquisition gives Herbert Wigwe-led company a majority share in African Banking Corporation which is expected to rebrand and take the name of the Nigerian lender.
In a statement released to the trading public, the Mozambique financial institutions will be integrated into Access Bank’s operations, a move that will make the merger the seventh largest bank in the country’s banking market.
READ ALSO: Access Bank renames South African bank acquired for $26.72m
Commenting on the acquisition, Wigwe said, “We are pleased with the completion of this acquisition which significantly strengthens our banking franchise in Mozambique and represents a transformational step in our growth plans in the country and the broader Southern Africa region.
“We are building the scale necessary to compete effectively and efficiently in key African markets outside Nigeria and ensure we sustainably deliver strong return on invested capital in our African expansion.
“Scale is an important contributor to returns and this transaction is consistent with our rigorous efforts to create a strong presence with scale across Africa, and in line with our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.” Wigwe stated.
The acquisition of African Banking Corporation comes two weeks after Access Bank acquired Grobank Limited, a South African financial institution.
Also, Atlas Mara is planning to sell Union Bank just as it has sold African Banking Corporation.
By Fakoyejo Ayodeji
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...