From Abubakar Yunusa, Abuja
Nigeria’s biggest lender Access Holdings received the second of the three regulatory approvals for the deal involving its takeover of Finibanco Angola S.A., the group said in a statement issued Wednesday.
The move followed authorisation from the Central Bank of Angola.
The phase that requires both parties to meet regulators’ demands will be concluded in the days ahead, with the final authorisation expected from the Angolan Competition Authority.
That will set up Access Bank (Access Holdings commercial banking subsidiary) for the decisive stage of the acquisition, where the lender expects “to initiate completion of other customary conditions precedents to close the transaction.”
Prior to the announcement, the deal had been sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The group disclosed last October Access Bank had in place a binding agreement to procure a majority shareholding of 51 per cent in Finibanco, which runs over 20 branches in Angola.
The shares to be purchased through the transaction are to come from Montepio, the holding company for the Portuguese lender Banco Montepio.
According to the latest plan, Access Bank is setting sights on scaling the stake up to 80 per cent, having entered into an agreement with minority shareholders of Finibanco, who are keen to offload their holdings.
Finibanco kicked off banking services in Angola in 2008 and is now worth $300 million in total assets.
Early in April, Access Bank had $300 million injected into its operations from its parent company in the form of a Tier 1 capital qualifying mandatory convertible instrument. The cash will “supplement the capital needs of its African expansion strategy,” Access Holdings said.
“The Bank (Finibanco) brings a lot of value-add and expertise that will act as a positive catalyst to foster greater innovation and promote the deepening of the financial sector in Angola, while complementing our strategic growth objectives in the broader SADC region,” said Herbert Wigwe, CEO Access Holdings.
Access Holdings total assets came to N15.7 trillion at the end of March, according to its earnings report for the first quarter of the year.
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