Kenya investor pulls out Sidian Bank deal with Access Holdings

Centum Investment Company Plc, the majority shareholder of Sidian Bank, has pulled out of a deal with Access Holdings.

Recall that while Access Bank negotiated to extend the timeframe, Centum Investment didn’t agree on terms for the extension.

In a statement obtained from Centum Investment Limited on Tuesday, the company said it chose to pull out of the negotiation and remain a shareholder of Sidian Bank.

“Following the expiry of the Share Purchase Agreement, Centum has opted not to pursue any extension of the SPA and has informed the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) accordingly. Centum will continue to be a shareholder of Sidian Bank,” the statement read.

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The Centum Group Chief Executive Officer, James Mworia, who spoke on the development, added: “The lapse of this agreement means that Centum continues to work with the management of the Bank (Sidian) on maximizing value to customers and all our stakeholders.”

Access Holdings had through its subsidiary in Kenya, Access Bank, offered to acquire Centum Investment’s 83.4 percent stake in Sidian Bank for N15 billion.

The deal was said to have reached its final stage with both companies signing a binding agreement in June 2022.

Talks between both parties later broke down to the surprise of many in the industry.

Seven months after signing the binding deal, Access Holdings revealed that there was no agreement on the fulfillment or waiver of certain conditions before the “Long Stop date” for the completion of the transaction.

A Long Stop date is a timeframe given to a buyer to meet certain conditions on the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). When the conditions are not met before the deadline, the binding agreement is terminated.

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