Commercial Bank of Africa has warned on a possible change in the price of their securities following completion of the merger transaction with NIC Group Plc.
CBA directors and shareholders on April 16 approved the proposed merger between CBA and the NIC Group Plc. The meeting also ratified other major transaction documents between the two entities.
CBA with operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda is known for its partnership with Safaricom to offer M-Shwari loans, recently launched overdraft product Fuliza and provision of other private, public, on-shore and off-shore investment instruments.
“This transaction, once concluded, may have a material effect on the price of CBA’s securities. Accordingly, bondholders and the investing public are advised to exercise caution when dealing in CBA’s securities,’ the board stated.
The bank's board said following the shareholders go ahead, they are in the process of preparing and executing of required documents.
These include business and asset transfer agreement, share acquisition agreements, amalgamation agreements, ancillary documents and applications for various regulatory approvals and exemptions.
The combined CBA/NIC asset base is estimated at more than Sh444 billion, to make it the largest bank in Kenya by customer base after Equity Bank which has more than 9.2 million customers.
Upon merger, CBA shareholders will exchange their shares for 53 per cent of the new shares in NIC. Therefore, 34 shareholders of CBA will own the majority 53 per cent of the combined bank entity while NIC shareholders will own 47 per cent.
NIC Group will remain listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
