Access Bank gets approval to acquire National Bank of Kenya in deal thought to be worth $100 million 

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved Access Bank’s acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group, provided it retains 80% of the staff for one year. The deal will now need the approval of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). 

“The transaction has been approved on condition that Access Bank Plc retains, for a period of one (1) year following completion of the transaction, at least of 80% of the target’s current workforce and all Access Bank (Kenya) Plc employees, its local subsidiary,” CAK said in a statement sent to TechCabal.

Regulatory filings show that NBK has 1,384 employees while Access Bank Kenya has 316.

While the value of the transaction has not been disclosed, KCB Group announced in March 2024 that it agreed to sell National Bank for 1.25x of the bank’s book value. Given NBK’s book value of $79.77 million in 2023, the deal could be priced around $100 million.  

The deal is expected to be finalised in November. 

Access Bank currently has 23 branches in 12 counties in Kenya. NBK, which provides retail, corporate, and Islamic banking services in 77 branches in 28 counties, will increase Access’s footprint in East Africa’s largest economy.

The bank’s current operations in Kenya are classified as tier 3, ranked 37 out of the 39 licensed commercial banks, while NBK is a tier 2 lender.

CAK estimates that the merged entity will have a combined market share of 1.9% once the acquisition is complete. 

“The combined market size is unlikely to raise competition concerns since it is low. Additionally, the merged entity will face competition from the other banks in the market,” CAK said. 

“The merged entity will face competition from the other banks in the market. Based on the foregoing, the proposed transaction is unlikely to lead to
a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the market.”

Access Bank did not immediately respond to a request for comments.