It was celebrations galore at Access Bank over the weekend as the Nigerian Tier 1 bank hosted its annual Xmas party for staff, business partners and friends of the bank. The annual event themed “Havana Nights” is one of the most sought-after corporate Xmas parties and lived up to its billing.
In attendance were the bank’s top echelon including the Managing Director of the bank Herbert Wigwe. As a plethora of top artists including the likes of Tiwa Savage, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Mayorkun wowed fans with their on-stage performances, negotiations for a merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank reached closing stages. Top executives of both banks had just hammered out what sources termed the key commercial terms of a potential merger that could usher in one of the largest banks in sub-Saharan Africa.
The celebrations continued into Sunday as Access Bank hosted the Born in Africa Concert at Eko Atlantic City. Guests seated at the VVIP (Very very important personality) section of the packed event were seen clinking glasses as they cheered on to another blockbuster merger that is set to make Access Bank the largest bank in Nigeria by asset base. As the clock ticked towards midnight, local media had picked up the cheering news. Finally, Access Bank will be acquiring (or merging with) Diamond Bank.
Sprawling rumours now confirmed.
Rumours of a potential merger deal surfaced a few weeks back to the shock of the investing community. However, both banks issued statements denying that any merger talks were ongoing. Despite the denials, people familiar with the transaction inform Nairametrics that the deal was never off the table and had been going on for weeks. Both sides had already facilitated the presence of a due diligence team from one of the big three audit firms.
According to a source, a board meeting was held over the weekend approving the merger terms after weeks of negotiations surrounding several aspects of the transaction. Both banks are now expected to formally seek a shareholder agreement before applying for the approval of the CBN and Securities & Exchange Commission.
What next?
There is still a long way to go before this deal will be completed. Nairametrics believes the following set of activities will take place before Access Bank merges with Diamond Bank.
Source: Nairametrics