Equity Group Holdings PLC has completed the acquisition of a 66.53 per cent stake in the Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC) at $95 million (Sh10.2billion).
The lender will now have two subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo having earlier acquired ProCredit, a German bank, now Equity Bank Congo.
In a statement Tuesday, Equity Group MD James Mwangi said the lender has been fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire two of the most solid banks in the market.
''We confident that the amalgamation and merger of the two subsidiaries will contribute significantly to the development and transformation of the DRC,” Mwangi said.
He added that the merger of the two entities will produce a subsidiary which contribute more than 20 per cent of the Group’s total balance sheet.
“We are glad that we now have the size and countrywide infrastructure that can bring our experience and capability to contribute significantly to the transformation of lives and livelihoods in DRC,'' Mwangi said.
George Forrest said that his decision to sell his shares in BCDC to Equity was because he knew Equity would preserve and develop it to further enhance the luster it deserves.
''I trust Equity to make it the largest bank in Congo and continue to contribute to the development and transformation of the country,'' Forrest said.
The deal is coming just a month after Equity abandoned the intention of acquiring four banks from London-listed investment firm Atlas Mara Limited, citing the uncertainty of risk occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.
The deal would have seen Equity Group acquire banking businesses from ATMA in Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique.
In Rwanda, Equity would have acquired 62 percent of the share capital of Rwanda’s Banque Populaire du Rwanda, and a hundred percent of African Banking Corporation Zambia, African Banking Corporation Tanzania and African Banking Corporation Mozambique.
On its end, Atlas Mara was expected to gain shares equivalent to a 6.72 percent stake in Equity Bank valued at Sh10.9 billion.