Leading financial institution, Access Bank Plc. has announced that it has discontinued its acquisition of Sidian Bank Ltd.
It would be recalled that Access Holdings Plc, trading as Access Corporation (‘the Corporation’) on June 8, 2022, announced that its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc (‘the Bank’) has entered into a binding agreement with Kenyan-based Centum Investment Plc (‘Centum’) for the acquisition of the entire 83.4% shareholding held by Centum in Sidian Bank Ltd. (‘Sidian’).
However, according to Access Bank; “The completion of the proposed transaction is subject to fulfilment or waiver of certain conditions before the Long Stop date as defined in the transaction agreement.”
“Although regulators have all been supportive in engagements around the transaction, certain conditions precedent needed to prudently complete the transaction have not been met and the parties are unable to reach agreement on the variation of these conditions in a manner to deliver the desired outcome for the parties.”
“Consequently, we hereby notify the Nigerian Exchange Ltd and the investing public that Sidian acquisition will no longer be completed by the Bank.”
“We remain committed to growing our franchise in a safe and sound manner in Kenya and the broader East African Community and will continue to explore a variety of organic and inorganic opportunities to grow our market share therein.”