Kenyan Bank Seals the Deal on Congolese Bank Takeover

Equity Group Holdings Plc has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the Congolese lender, Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC) at a discounted price of $95 million. The takeover began in September last year when Equity Bank first announced its partnership with BCDC majority shareholder, George Arthur Forrest and family. The Kenyan money lender sought to acquire all 625,354 shares (66.53 percent) owned by the Belgian entrepreneur at a cost of $105 million. The price of the transaction included dividends declared after January 1, 2019, in respect of the financial year ending December 31, 2019, meaning cum-dividend price per share of $167.9.BCDC was majority-owned by George Arthur Forrest and family (66.53 percent) and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (25.53 percent), while the remaining 7.94 percent shares are owned by other minority shareholders.

SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA