Nigeria’s top lender, Access Bank, has acquired an 83.4 percent stake in Sidian Bank from Centum Investments for Ksh4.3 billion.
This comes two years after the Nigerian Lender acquired a 99.98 percent stake of Transnational Bank in 2020 from Close associates of former President Daniel Moi in a deal valued at Ksh1.56 billion.
Access, which has assets of $25.5 billion, focuses on corporate retail banking and it is expected to boost the growth of Sidian, which will be merged with Transnational Bank that was renamed Access Kenya.
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Sidian which started as a non-governmental organisation before converting to a micro-financier in 1989 and later to a bank in 1999, mainly lends to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“Centum Investment Company Plc (‘Centum’) announces today that it has entered into a binding agreement with Access Bank Plc (‘Access Bank’) regarding a proposed purchase by Access Bank of Centum’s entire equity stake in Sidian Bank Limited,” Centum’s CEO, James Mworia, said in a statement to newsrooms.
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“It is expected that in due course, Sidian will be merged with Access Bank’s subsidiary in Kenya to create a stronger banking institution positioned to serve the Kenyan market,” he said.
Sidian posted a profit of Ksh117 million in the three months to March, from Ksh113.9 million in the previous quarter.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ranks Sidian as Kenya’s 23rd bank out of the country’s 39, has remained a tier-three bank since it became a fully-fledged bank close to ten years ago.
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