Employees from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) will jointly sit in an acquisition transition team set up by both lenders.
KCB chief executive Joshua Oigara will head the project team, even as other names of the joint acquisition team are yet to be revealed.
The team is meant to mitigate transitional risks and make necessary preparations to enable both lenders endure a smooth transition in the KCB takeover of NBK.
Under the terms of the takeover, NBK will remain as a subsidiary of KCB, rather than be wholly swallowed. It will however be delisted from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
The deal has already cleared hurdles as it rolls on to completion, expected by end of September.
Already, KCB shareholders have approved the takeover. NBK investors will be asked whether to accept the acquisition through a circular from the bank’s board.
During an annual general meeting on June 14, NBK approved the conversion of the firm’s preference shares forming part of the equity structure of NBK thereby facilitating closure of one of the conditions required by KCB for the transaction to be completed.
The successful completion of the transaction is subject to receipt of pending regulatory approvals from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).Verbal approvals have been forthcoming from CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge and Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich for the move that when completed will see the formation of one of the biggest banks in the East Africa region.
The takeover process has been rolling since mid-April, when KCB informed the NSE and CMA of its intention to acquire NBK via share swap.
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