Business
By Anthony Isibor
THE Access bank Plc. is to acquire 78 percent of the BancABC Botswana, Atlas Mara, a financial services holding company, formed to undertake the acquisition of target banks in Africa has said.
Atlas Mara said: “The Nigerian bank will acquire just over 78% of BancABC Botswana for an undisclosed cash sum of around 1.13 times book value as well as a two-year deferred payment.
“Access Bank is expanding across the African continent to counter stagflation and dollar shortages in Nigeria which have frustrated businesses, shrinking the lending market.
“The new acquisition comes a month after the Nigerian bank acquired a South African bank,” it said.
This transaction when completed will expand Access Bank’s presence in 10 countries in Africa.
According to Herbert Wigwe, chief executive officer of Access Bank Group,“Nigerian leaders have been seeking new ways to boost profit amid slow economic growth at home, a drop in government bond yields, and a rise in restructured loans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We remain committed to a disciplined and thoughtful expansion strategy in Africa, which we believe will create strong, sustainable returns. BancABC is Botswana’s fifth-largest bank and has a quality retail loan book with the scope for expansion into corporate and small to medium-sized enterprise lending,” he said.
Access Bank became the first Nigerian lender to venture into South Africa when it bought a controlling stake in South Africa’s Grobank for around $60 million in March. It has a presence in both Zambia and Mozambique after a recent business deal.
With more than $16 billion of assets and a focus on corporate and retail banking, Access is restructuring into a holding company to drive its international expansion
Atlas Mara had also revealed that Access Bank shares fell 1.32% to 7.50 naira; 36% from a peak of 11.77 naira in January last year, before it acquired Kenya’s Transnational Bank.
(Comms Week)
– Apr. 20, 2021 @ 13:20 GMT
Tags: Access Bank Atlas Mara BancABC Botswana
