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| Equity Group CEO; James Mwangi (R) and BCDC Majority Shareholder Mr. George Forrest (L) after signing the agreement. |
Equity Group Holdings enters into a share purchase agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake in Banque Commercial Du Congo, proposes to increase its shareholding in EBC in a deal with Kreditanstalt Für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
Equity Group Holdings, (EGH) Monday entered into a share purchase agreement with George Arthur Forrest, to purchase 66.53% of the shares held by Mr. Forrest in Banque Commercial du Congo (BCDC), a public limited company (société anonyme – S.A.) licensed by the Banque Central du Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Following completion of the transaction, the BCDC business will eventually be amalgamated with that of EGH’s existing banking subsidiary in DRC, Equity Bank Congo S.A. (EBC). The Agreement is subject to regulatory approvals from amongst others, the Central Bank of Kenya, Banque Centrale du Congo, the COMESA Competition Commission and the board approvals of BCDC and EGH.
The Agreement specifies that EGH will pay a cash consideration of US Dollars one hundred and five million (USD 105 million) for the 625,354 shares to be purchased inclusive of dividends declared after 1st January 2019 in respect of the financial year ending on 31 December 2019 i.e. a cum-dividend price per share of USD 167.9 per share.
EGH also proposes to increase its shareholding in EBC. In this regard, EGH shareholders approved the purchase by EGH of the shares held by KfW comprising 7.6% of the issued share capital of EBC following the exercise of a put option granted to KfW under a Shareholders Agreement relating to EBC, entered into between among others EGH and KfW. The proposed acquisition of the shares held by KfW is also subject to the approval of Banque Centrale du Congo.
Equity Group Holdings Plc CEO and Managing Director, Dr. James Mwangi said this is an opportunity for the Group to take further steps towards the delivery of its vision of building sub-Saharan Africa’s premier financial institution through delivering innovative products and services to customers, including, in particular, the effective use of technology.By acquiring BCDC and the KfW stake in EBC, EGH will expand its footprint in DRC. The Group aims to provide access to competitive, tailored financial services to transform people’s lives and livelihoods, expand opportunities for wealth creation whilst also delivering significant value to its stakeholders.
Mr. George Arthur FORREST is happy to conclude the transaction with EGH knowing that his legacy is in the hands of the fastest developing Bank in Sub-Saharan Africa, already present in DRC, with the aspiration and capacity to develop and grow the offerings and financing of BCDC.
About EGH PLC:
Equity Group Holdings Plc is a financial-services holding company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. In addition to Equity Bank Kenya, the Group has banking subsidiaries in, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania and DRC with additional non-banking subsidiaries engaged in provision of investment banking, custodial, insurance agency, philanthropy, consulting, and infrastructure services.
Equity Group has an asset base of over USD 6 billion. With over 14 million customers, The Group is one of the biggest banks in customer base in the region. The Group has a footprint of 294 branch network, 50,077 Agents and 27,576 Merchants. The Group is the largest bank in market capitalization in East and Central Africa. The Banker Top 1000 World Banks 2019 ranked Equity Bank 844 overall in its global ranking, 75th in soundness (Capital Assets to Assets ratio), 32nd in terms of Profits on Capital and 15th on Return on Assets. In the same year Moody’s gave the Bank a global rating of B2 with a stable outlook same as the sovereign rating of the Kenyan government due to the Bank’s strong brand recognition, solid liquidity buffers and resilient funding profile, established domestic franchise and extensive adoption of digital and alternative distribution channels.
Equity Group Holdings Plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.
Additional information may be found at: www.equitygroupholdings.com
Additional information may be found at: www.equitygroupholdings.com
About BCDC:
BCDC is a public limited company (société anonyme – S.A.) licensed by the Banque Central du Congo (the Central Bank of the Democratic Republic of Congo) to provide banking services in DRC. The Bank traces its origins to 1909 when it was founded as Banque du Congo Belge. BCDC is the second largest bank in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as measured by balance sheet and shareholders’ equity.
BCDC owns one wholly-owned subsidiary company engaged in property investment and reports group consolidated financial statements.
As at 31 December 2018, BCDC reported consolidated net assets of 191,534 million (USD 117.10 million) and consolidated group profit after tax of CDF 26,314 million (equivalent to USD 16.09 million) .
Banque Commercial Du Congo is regulated by the Banque Central du Congo.
Additional information may be found at: https://www.bcdc.cd/en/notre-histoire-en
Additional information may be found at: https://www.bcdc.cd/en/notre-histoire-en
Source; Equity Group
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