Kenya’s Equity Bank on Tuesday said that it has concluded the purchase of 66.53 percent of the issued share capital of Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) which is based in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at a cost of 10.3 billion shillings (about 95 million U.S. dollars).
James Mwangi, CEO of the Equity Bank Group, said in a statement issued in Nairobi that his financial institution now has two subsidiaries in the DRC after having earlier acquired ProCredit, a German bank, now Equity Bank Congo.
“We have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to acquire two of the most solid banks in the market. With the second and fourth-largest banks in the country being our subsidiaries, we are confident that amalgamation and merger of the two subsidiaries will produce a combined bank with a balance sheet in excess of two billion dollars with the capacity and capability to contribute significantly to the development and transformation of the DR Congo,” Mwangi said.
Mwangi noted that a merger of the two entities in the DRC will produce a subsidiary which contributes more than 20 percent of the group’s total balance sheet.
“The merged entity will firmly be on the path of becoming the largest banking entity in DRC within a period of one year given the leadership, managerial and financial resources of the group and the business synergies that will go with being a member of a regional group,” he added.
“We are glad that we now have the size and countrywide infrastructure that can bring our experience and capability to contribute significantly to the transformation of lives and livelihoods in DRC, while stimulating economic transformation of the country through resource allocation,” Mwangi said.
He observed that the addition of an amalgamation with BCDC will put Equity Group on the path to become a 9.2 billion dollar balance sheet business that will benefit from economies of scale.
The regional bank has operations in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, DRC and a representative office in Ethiopia.
