Nigerian Bank Gets Approval to Acquire National Bank of Kenya

Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc has received the greenlight to acquire the National Bank of Kenya, in a deal that firms up its foothold in East Africa’s biggest economy. Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the National Treasury have both approved the acquisition National Bank of Kenya, which is owned by KCB Group.

In a gazette notice dated 11th April, CBK Governor Kamau Thugge said the banking regulator had approved the deal in early April, while Treasury approved it on April 10th.

The approvals now set the stage for the acquisition of NBK and its subsequent merger with Access Bank’s subsidiary in Kenya.

In mid-March, reports indicated that the Central Bank of Nigeria had placed a condition for Access Bank, which is listed in its home market, to divest from its holdings in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

KCB and Access Bank signed the share purchase in March 2024, setting the stage for the Nigerian-based bank to acquire the struggling NBK at 1.25 times of its book value.

Because the deal involved two listed multinational banking groups, regulatory approvals have taken more than a year and have included approvals from local and regional anti-trust agencies.

Kenya’s Competition Authority approved the deal on condition that Access Bank retain at least 80% of NBK’s staff after the merger.

After acquiring Transnational Bank to gain a foothold in Nairobi in 2019, Access Bank had tried to acquire Sidian Bank from Centum Investments, but the deal fell through.

> Access Bank Kenya CEO Samuel Minta Steps Down