The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has conditionally approved Access Bank’s acquisition of the entire issued share capital of National Bank of Kenya Limited from KCB Group.
“The transaction has been approved on condition that Access Bank Plc retains, for a period of 1 year following completion of the transaction, at least of 80% of the target’s current workforce and all Access Bank Kenya employees, its local subsidiary,” noted CAK in a statement.
Currently, Access Bank Kenya has 23 branches across 12 counties in the country. The bank is licensed to provide retail and corporate banking services.
The lender is currently ranked 37th out of 39 licensed commercial banks and classified as a tier 3 bank. Its market share as of 2023 stood at 0.2%. The transaction is set to increase Access Bank’s market share to 1.9%, and the lender will be reclassified as tier 2.
“The combined market size is unlikely to raise competition concerns since it is low. Additionally, the merged entity will face competition from the other banks in the market,” CAK stated.
Currently, NBK has 1,384 employees, while Access Bank’s Kenyan subsidiary has 316 staff members. Both parties have committed to retain 80% of the NBK’s workforce and 100% of the acquirer’s employees for one year after completion of the deal.
“Additionally, the merging has committed to compensating employees, whose employment will be terminated in accordance with the Employment Act and other applicable labor laws,” the statement read.
Access Bank Plc is a Nigeria-based commercial bank and is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is wholly owned by Access Holdings Plc, a company listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
