Business associates of Kenya’s late President Daniel Arap Moi are set to earn an extra Ksh390 million ($3.4 million) for selling a majority stake in Kenyan commercial bank Transnational Bank to Nigeria’s largest financial services group Access Bank over two years ago.
According to Business Daily, the $3.4-million payout, which will be due in the coming weeks based on regulatory filings published March 29, represents the balance from their stake in Transnational Bank sold to Access Bank in 2020.
Access Bank completed the acquisition of Transnational Bank in early 2020 after purchasing a 99.98-percent stake in the Kenyan lender from close associates of the late Moi, including Joshua Kulei and Simeon Nyachae, as well as former Vice President George Saitoti.
The Herbert Wigwe-led Access Bank paid the owners Ksh1.21 billion in cash, with a deferred payment of N1.41 billion ($3.4 million) to shareholders at the end of two years under the share purchase agreement and takeover bid, which was executed at a Ksh1.56-billion valuation.
According to the terms of the agreement, Kulei, a former aide to the ex-President who owned a 23.03-percent stake in Transnational, Nyachae, a former cabinet minister during Moi’s administration, and other bank shareholders will receive Ksh390 million ($3.4 million).
Since acquiring Transnational Bank in 2020, Access Bank has invested Ksh3.2 billion ($27.7 million) in additional capital to help the Kenyan financial services provider return to profitability.
Access Bank’s profit increased by 51 percent from N106 billion ($255.1 million) in 2020 to N160.2 billion ($385.6 million) at the end of 2021, driven by a 27-percent increase in gross earnings due to strong performance across its operational sectors.
As a result of its solid performance, the bank’s assets increased to N11.7 trillion ($28.2 billion), up from N8.68 trillion ($20.9 billion) the previous year, solidifying its position as Nigeria’s largest lender in terms of assets.
Meanwhile, retained earnings went from N252.4 billion ($607.45 million) to N397.27 billion ($956.1 million), while shareholder funds increased from N751.04 million ($1.8 billion) to N1.05 trillion ($2.5 billion).
