African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited, also doing business as Atlas Mara Zambia, has been fully acquired by Access Bank Limited.
This was announced by Access Holdings, the parent company of the bank, on Monday, some eight months after the agreement was first disclosed.
The new acquisition became a fully owned subsidiary of Access Bank Zambia after the lender completed the deal through its banking operation in Zambia.
The largest lender in Nigeria in terms of assets declared in April of last year that it had obtained the Central Bank of Zambia's final regulatory permission for the acquisition, allowing it the freedom to increase its presence in the country of southern Africa.
September of last year was the expected completion date for the transaction, but that didn't materialize.
There will be a business merger between African Banking Corporation and Access Bank Zambia. The bank completed the acquisition of Zambia's Cavmont Bank Limited in January 2021, and it subsequently merged with Access Bank Zambia.
The lender anticipates that the merger will result in one of Zambia's top five banks, and it hopes to take advantage of Atlas Mara's significant market share in the public and retail domains to establish a leading nationwide banking platform.
It has declared its goal to restructure its Zambian division such that by 2027, it will be among the top three banks in that country in terms of assets.
“This marks a significant milestone for Access Bank as we work towards achieving our vision of being the World’s Most Respected African Bank,” Access Holdings CEO Herbert Wigwe said in a regulatory filing.
“We are poised for success by harmonising the robust brands, rich heritage, shared values, and best practices of both companies to create opportunities for all our stakeholders in Zambia and the SADC region,” Mr Wigwe added.
The financial services business acquired the bulk of the ownership in Angola's Finibanco S.A. last July, and at least six more mergers involving various markets throughout the continent are currently in the works.
With agreements inked to finalize the transactions, it has already acquired the majority ownership in African Banking Corporation Tanzania Limited as well as the banking operations of Standard Chartered Bank in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.
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