I&M Bank Ltd’s 100 percent acquisition of Giro Commercial Bank Ltd (GCBL) has been actualised. The deal, valued at Sh5 billion, tool effect on February 13, the Central Bank of Kenya said in a statement.
The acquisition follows CBK’s approval on October 27, 2016, for IMHL to acquire 100 percent shareholding of GCBL under Section 13 (4) of the Banking Act, and approval by National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich on January 27 for it to acquire GCBL under Section 9 of the Banking Act.
“Consequently, effective February 13, 2017, GCBL has ceased to be a bank licensed by CBK, and its rights and obligations have been taken up by I&M Bank. All GCBL stakeholders—e.g., depositors, employees, and creditors—continue their relationship with I&M Bank,” the apex bank stated.
The lender had in June last year announced its desire to pay Sh2.5 billion in cash and offer owners of Giro Bank a minority stake in a Sh2.5 billion share sell deal.
The NSE-listed lender offered to create 21,043,330 new shares valued at Sh121.05 each to actualise the deal.
I&M Bank is a wholly owned banking subsidiary of I&M Holdings Ltd (IMHL), a non-operating holding company.
I&M Bank was licensed in 1996, was ranked 9th in terms of market share as at
December 31, 2016, with 35 branches. GCBL was licensed in 1992, and was
ranked 26th in terms of market share as at December 31, 2016, with 7 branches.
Taken together, they had a combined market share of about 5 percent as at
December 31, 2016. IMHL has a banking presence in Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and is listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
