Access Bank continues African expansion with acquisition of Zambia’s Cavmont Bank
By Charles Abuede
Access Bank Plc, Nigeria’s Tier-1 financial institution, says it has completed the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited through its Zambia subsidiary, Access Bank (Zambia) Limited, following the fulfilment of key conditions precedent to the full acquisitions and regulatory approvals.
Access Bank made this disclosure on Wednesday in a filing to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) where it disclosed that the merger of Cavmont into Access Bank Zambia is expected to take place before the close of January 2021.
The Nigerian lender further stated that the acquisition will see the Zambian subsidiary emerge as a stronger and well capitalised banking franchise with improved scale and capacity to deliver sustainable and best in class financial services in the Zambian market.
Also, the bank disclosed that growing its banking presence in Zambia remains a strategic priority as it looks forward to realizing the synergies that will emanate from the transaction while it also looks forward to achieving growth that seeks to benefit all stakeholders.
In the statement signed by Sunday Ekwochi, the company secretary, the bank said, “Sequel to our announcement of August 6, 2020, the board of Access Bank today announces that its Zambian subsidiary, Access Bank Zambia Limited has completed the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited following the key conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals.
“The merger of Cavmont into Access Bank Zambia is expected to take place before the end of January 2021, following which Access Bank Zambia will emerge as a stronger and well-capitalised banking franchise with improved scale and capacity to deliver sustainable and best-in-class financial services in the Zambian market.
“Growing our presence in Zambia remains a strategic priority for access bank and with the conclusion of the proposed merger with Cavmont; the bank looks forward to realizing the synergies from the transaction and achieving further growth of the combined platform to the benefit of all stakeholders,” the bank said.
The completion of this acquisition process comes a few months after the bank announced its decisions to expand its footprint across the African continent through the acquisition of African Banking Corporations in Mozambique and also increasing its shareholding stake in GroCapital to 49 per cent.
The bank has also, before this time, acquired the Kenyan Transnational Bank as a means to expand its tentacles in the eastern African region, following which it commenced the acquisition process of Cavmont Bank through Access Bank Zambia.