Business Daily (Nairobi)
Morris Aron
16 June 2008
Ecobank Transnational has completed the acquisition of 75 per cent shareholding in EABS Bank.
The transaction leaves the Pandit family as the single largest shareholders of the bank with a 25 per cent stake and two seats on the board of directors.
The new outfit has been re-named Ecobank Kenya Limited with Mr Peter Kanyago as the new chairman.
Other board members are Simon Mauncho, Michael Monari, Gina Din Kariuki and Surinder Kapila. Mr Kanyago said that the completion of the acquisition paves way for the bank to launch its operations in the market and position itself in the region with Kenya as the hub of its operations.
"With East Africa becoming a full customs union by 2010, Nairobi will serve as the hub of economic activity," said Kanyago.
Ecobank said that it intends to launch a number of products including full-service wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services to all sectors of the economy.
The bank also intends to enter into the home loans market by providing mortgage loans to potential home buyers.
EABS shareholders' funds were valued at Sh1.57 billion last year and an acquisition of a 75 per cent stake means the deal could be worth more than Sh1.1 billion.
The bank, which is one of Kenya's mid-tier players, has an asset base of Sh8.9 billion.
EABS Bank was formed in October, 2005, following the merger of East African Building Society and Akiba Bank.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Business Daily. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
