The headquarters of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), operated by KCB Group Ltd. (Photographer: Riccardo Gangale/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group on Thursday announced it had signed an agreement with Atlas Mara Limited (ATMA) to acquire banking businesses in Rwanda and Tanzania.
“KCB Group Plc (KCB) and Atlas Mara (ATMA) have signed a definitive agreement which will see East Africa’s biggest Bank by assets increase its footprint within the region,” KCB said in a statement.
The agreement will see KCB acquire a 62.06 percent stake Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc (BPR) and a 100 percent stake African Banking Corporation Tanzania (BancABC).
The completion of the transaction is subject to obtaining shareholder approval and regulatory approvals in the respective countries, the statement added.
Acquisition of BPR will see KCB double its market share and become the second largest bank in Rwanda. Meanwhile, the merged entity in Tanzania is expected to rank as a top ten bank in the industry.
KCB Group CEO and MD Joshua Oigara said the deal will support the bank’s business growth in the post COVID-19 macroeconomic recovery.
“The transaction fits within the Group’s expansion strategy and will see us increase our market share and distribution network across Rwanda and Tanzania and improve our operating leverage by enabling us to deliver our existing product offerings to a wider base of customers while positioning the bank for sustainable growth in the long-term,” Oigara said.
He added that the deal will strengthen KCB’s leadership position and give it a stronger edge to play a bigger role in driving the financial inclusion agenda in the East African region.
“Our growth strategy is premised on both organic and inorganic plans and we shall continue to seek opportunities that increase our shareholder’s value.”
KCB currently has a presence in Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and a representative office in Ethiopia.
