Breaking: National Bank of Kenya Limited to be acquired by Access Holdings

 The National Bank of Kenya will be acquired by Access Holdings in what will be the company's first significant transaction following Herbert Wigwe's passing.

This is a follow-up to a previous Nairametrics report on KCB's announced sale of National Bank of Kenya.  

Nairametrics was able to view a corporate disclosure on the NGX website that stated that KCB would be purchasing the entire issued share capital of National Bank of Kenya Limited from Access Bank Plc, the company's principal subsidiary.  

Access Bank said that it has signed a legally binding contract with KCB Group Plc, a company based in Kenya, to purchase all of National Bank of Kenya Limited's issued share capital, often known as "the Target" or "NBK," from KCB. Moreover, KCB is the holding company of Kenya's biggest commercial bank, KCB Bank Ltd.

According to the bank, this is positioned to strengthen Access Bank's position in the Kenyan market and is consistent with the firm's strategic expansion goal.

Suggested reading: Wigwe: Shares of Access Holding recover losses

Bolaji Agbede, Access Holdings Plc's acting group CEO, commented on the deal, saying, 

"With the goal of establishing the Bank as Africa's Gateway to the World, this proposed acquisition represents a major milestone in the implementation of our five-year strategic plan. The agreement with NBK, a reputable and historically strong bank in Kenya with a balance sheet above US$1.1 billion, 

Offers a significant chance to accelerate our expansion into the East African market.

We continue to believe that our contributions to The Bank's long-term profitability profile will be strengthened and diversified, which will result in considerable value delivery for our customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders.  

Since Herbert Wigwe, the bank's former GMD and CEO, passed away, Access Corporation has made just one purchase, indicating that it will stick to its aggressive, inorganic expansion strategy. 

Suggested reading: Stocks in Access Holdings plummet by 6.26% as mourners Kenya's National Bank, Herbert Wigwe Outcomes

According to Nairametrics checks, the bank had a third-quarter deficit in September 2023 of over Ksh 3 billion ($22.5 million).

As of the end of September 2023, the bank also has net equity of Ksh 10.6 billion ($79.6 million).

A more thorough examination of the data reveals that the bank has a retained loss of almost Ksh 7.9 billion ($59.3million)