Kenya's Centum to sell Sidian Bank stake to Nigeria's Access Bank

Everi Holdings

07/06/2022 19:45

NAIROBI, June 7 (Reuters) - Kenya's Centum Investment Co.
Plc  CTUM.NR  said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its 83.4%
stake in Kenya's Sidian Bank to Nigeria's Access Bank for 4.3
billion shillings ($36.8 million).
    Centum said in a statement the deal with Access Bank, a
subsidiary of Access Holdings , was
subject to regulatory approval in Kenya and Nigeria.
    "This transaction stands as one of the largest private
equity transactions in East Africa and reflects a strong
commitment by Access Bank to the future of the Kenyan economy,"
James Mworia, Centum's chief executive officer, said.
    If the transaction goes through, it will be the second
acquisition in Kenya for Access Bank, which acquired
Transnational Bank, now called Access Bank Kenya, in 2020.
    Sidian Bank Group, which focuses on lending to small and
medium-sized businesses and trade finance, had total assets of
43.2 billion shillings at the end of March.
    Centum, which invests in listed firms and private companies,
says it had assets worth about $400 million at the end of March.
    Access Bank, with operations across three continents and 17
countries, had total assets of about $28.8 billion at the end of
March.
    "Through this transaction and the subsequent merger with
Access Bank Kenya, we will be well placed to promote regional
trade finance and other cross border banking services,"
Roosevelt Ogbonna, Access Bank's CEO, said.
    ($1 = 116.8000 Kenyan shillings)

 (Reporting by George Obulutsa
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((george.obulutsa@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
george.obulutsa.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))