South Africa’s Absa Group is set to invest Ksh30.9 billion ($240 million) to increase its stake in Absa Bank Kenya to 85 percent from 68.5 percent, marking the latest sign of intensifying competition among regional lenders seeking growth in East Africa.
In an email statement on Thursday, the Johannesburg-based banking group noted that it launched a tender offer to acquire up to 895.99 million shares from minority investors at Ksh34.50 per share, representing an 18.1 percent premium to the bank’s 30-day volume-weighted average price as of June 17.
The transaction marks one of the biggest recent cross-border banking deals in East Africa and comes five months after South Africa’s Nedbank Group unveiled plans to acquire a controlling stake in NCBA Group in a deal valued at $856 million.
Together, the transactions underscore a growing push by South African lenders to expand beyond their relatively mature home market into faster-growing African
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