Yemisi Izuora
First Bank of Nigeria Limited has acquired the remaining shares in FBNBank DRC Limited (FBNBank DRC), making it FirstBank’s wholly owned Subsidiary.
FirstBank said this follows its initial investment in FBNBank DRC (formerly Banque Internationale de Credit) in 2011, when the Bank acquired a 75 per cent stake in FBNBank DRC.
Following the acquisition, FBNBank DRC “has continued to expand its product offerings, deepen its customer base and is currently ranked amongst the top five banks serving the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country with a population of more than 82 million.
Commenting on the acquisition, the Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan stated, “This transaction underscores our belief in Sub-Saharan Africa’s growth and our focus on providing a differentiated banking experience throughout Africa. This acquisition further consolidates our already robust African footprint and positions FirstBank to take advantage of emerging opportunities in DRC and the sub-region. This increased investment by FirstBank in FBNBank DRC – the 3rd largest banking entity in the group, will surely accrete value for shareholders.”
In his remark, the CEO, FBNBank DRC, Mr. Akeem Oladele stated, “With 100% holding by FirstBank, FBNBank DRC now has much greater flexibility to deliver differentiated propositions by fully tapping into the resources and innovative capabilities of FirstBank in 8 countries, on 3 continents. FBNBank DRC is also now uniquely positioned to deepen customer reach, broaden offerings and accelerate its growth from top 5 to top 3 in DRC.”
It will be recalled that the premier Nigerian Bank recorded a strong gross revenue growth of 16% in 2016, from ₦463 billion in 2015 to ₦536 billion in 2016, despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. Similarly, FirstBank recorded a 10% growth in profit before tax.