Kenya's Equity in share purchase agreement for Congolese bank

Equity Group Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi (PHOTO: Standard)

Equity Bank has proposed to acquire 66.53 per cent issued shares of a Congolese bank (Banque Commerciale du Congo)

The share purchase agreement with George Arthur Forest will enable the Kenyan lender to amalgamate the business of Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) with that of its existing banking subsidiary in the democratic republic of Congo, Equity Bank Congo SA.

The agreement specifies that Equity will pay a cash consideration of USD 105,000,000 for the 625,354 shares to be purchased inclusive of dividends declared after January 1 in respect of the financial year ending December 31

Banque Commerciale du Congo is a company which offers general banking, as well as personal, commercial, and residential loans. The Bank has branches throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire).

Three months ago Equity Holdings said it has entered talks with some shareholders of Banqué Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) to buy a controlling stake in the Congolese bank, stepping up its Africa expansion.

Equity, which already runs another subsidiary in the DRC, said the talks were likely to result in a cash transaction. It did not identify the BCDC shareholders who are selling.

In a statement on Tuesday, Equity said it has entered into a share purchase agreement with George Arthur Forest for the purchase of 66.53 per cent of the shares in BCDC.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals from Central Bank of Kenya, Comesa competition commission BCDC and the board approvals of BCDC and Equity Group Holdings (EGH).