The Central Bank of Zambia has approved Access Bank’s proposed acquisition and merger of African Banking Corporation Zambia Ltd (Atlas Mara Zambia) after two years of negotiations.
Access Holding said on Friday that its subsidiary, Access Bank Zambia Ltd has also received approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Access Bank Zambia said its operations will consequently be merged with Atlas Mara Zambia.
The Transaction is expected to be completed in Q3, 2023, Access Holding said.
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The parent company had in October 2021, announced that its Zambian subsidiary had approached Atlas Mara Zambia for acquisition.
Access Zambia will now move towards integrating and merging Atlas Mara Zambia into its operations, which is expected to create one of the top five banks in Zambia.
The Company Secretary, Sunday Ekwochi, said in a statement on Friday, that the transaction would be completed in the third quarter of 2023.
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Mr Ekwochi said the Central Bank of Nigeria and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Competition Commission had earlier granted their “no objection” to the transaction in 2022.
“Access Holdings Plc is pleased to announce that Access Bank Zambia Ltd., a subsidiary of its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank, has received final regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Zambia for the acquisition and merger of African Banking Corporation Zambia Ltd into its existing operations,” he said.
Commenting on the transaction, Herbert Wigwe, the Group Chief Executive Access Holdings, said that the transaction followed its earlier acquisition and merger of Cavmont Bank Plc.
“The transaction builds on our earlier acquisition and merger of Cavmont Bank Plc into Access Bank Zambia and underscores our resolve to strengthen our presence in Zambia, a key African market that fits into our strategic focus on geographic earnings growth and diversification.
“The combination of the two banks will create significant synergies between Access Zambia’s world class wholesale and transaction banking capabilities and Atlas Mara Zambia’s market leading retail and public sector capabilities to form a market leading universal banking platform that will greatly impact the Zambia market,” he said.
He said that Access Zambia would now move toward integrating and merging Atlas Mara Zambia into its operations.
This, according to him, is expected to create one of the top five banks in Zambia.
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Access Bank Zambia Limited is a subsidiary of Access Bank Plc.
