Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, is in the final stages of acquiring KCB Group’s National Bank of Kenya (NBK).
KCB Group CEO Paul Russo confirmed the acquisition’s progress on Wednesday, stating that regulatory approvals are nearly finalized and NBK’s performance was included in KCB’s 2024 full-year results.
“We are at advanced stages of regulatory approval from both sides. I am very confident that we are at the tail,” Russo said during the bank’s FY 2024 results announcement.
The acquisition, aimed at enhancing Access Bank’s pan-African expansion and strengthening its presence in Kenya, received conditional approval from Kenya’s Competition Authority (CAK) in October 2024.
The approval mandates Access Bank to retain at least 80% of NBK’s 1,384 employees for one year and all 316 employees of Access Bank Kenya.
“We extended the long stop date to February of this year because we hadn’t gotten all the regulatory approvals,” explained KCB Group’s CFO Lawrence Kimathi.
“Within that period, we got approval from the CBN, so the only approval that’s remaining is from the Central Bank of Kenya. Access themselves have written to our regulator to say that they are keen to close this transaction.”
KCB’s 2024 financial results reflected the impact of the pending sale, with a 10% decrease in total assets attributed to the reclassification of NBK balances and the appreciation of the Kenyan shilling. Excluding NBK, loans grew by 10.5%, while deposits decreased by 0.1%.
The deal’s financial details remain undisclosed, but KCB previously indicated a sale price of 1.25 times NBK’s book value, suggesting a figure of around $100 million based on NBK’s 2023 book value of $79.77 million.
The acquisition will significantly expand Access Bank’s Kenyan footprint, increasing its branch network from 23 to 77.
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