Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi Equity Group Holdings’ board of directors have announced the signing of a non-binding agreement with shareholders of Banqué Commerciale du Congo (BCDC).
The proposed transaction will see Equity Group hold the majority shares in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s bank and increase its market share in the french-speaking African country.
It already has operations in the country through Equity Bank Congo.
The bank said the move will also lead to a merger of BCDC operations with that of existing Equity Group’s subsidiary.
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“The board of directors have agreed to the entry into a non-binding term sheet with certain shareholders (the selling shareholders) of Banqué Commerciale du Congo (BCDC), for the purchase for cash of a controlling equity stake in BCDC,” Equity Group said in a statement.
“The proposed transaction is subject to conditions that are customary to transactions of this nature, including completion of due diligence, the entering of detailed transaction agreements and obtaining and shareholder approvals.”
The transaction will also be applicable to regulatory approvals from the Capital Markets Authority, the Central Bank of Kenya, the Central Bank of Congo and competition regulators.
BCDC is licensed by the Central Bank of Congo.
Equity Group’s move spearheads the bank’s announced acquisitions in May as part of its expansion strategy aimed at serving 100 million customers by 2024.“Until further announcements regarding the proposed transaction are made, the shareholders of EGH and other investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in EGH ordinary shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the Uganda Securities Exchange and the Rwanda Stock Exchange,” it added.Equity Group announced to four banks operating in Rwanda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zambia.This includes 62 per cent stake in Banque Populaire du Rwanda and 100 per cent stake in African Banking Corporation holdings in Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique.The bank is also in talks with Atlas Mara Limited, a London-listed financial service group to swap controlling equity stakes in four of its subsidiaries for ordinary shares in Equity.The deal will include issuing 25,482,300 new shares representing 6.27 per cent for the transfer of shares owned by Atlas Mara in the banks, valued at Sh10.7 billion.The group currently has current outlets in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
