KCB Group on Tuesday said it will uphold the relevant legal and regulatory requirements at every stage of its bid to acquire state-owned National Bank of Kenya.
In response to Kenya’s Parliamentary Committee on Finance and National Planning recommendation for its bid to be rejected, it said “The offer was made in the best interest of KCB and NBK shareholders,” adding that they have up to August 31, 2019, to make a decision on the offer.
KCB received its shareholders’ approval to proceed with the proposed acquisition of NBK during its AGM held on May 30, 2019. Similarly, during its AGM held on June 14, 2019, NBK shareholders approved the transaction.
“NBK shareholders have already received the offer documents and we remain optimistic that we shall receive positive responses. The final outcome will be communicated as soon as the exercise is completed,” said KCB in a statement.
The National Treasury has defended the takeover of NBK by KCB. In a statement, acting Treasury CS Ukur Yattani said the government, through the National Treasury and National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is a principal shareholder in the two banks and supports the need for a stronger bank.
“The government as a shareholder has been engaged in the process. In our strategic role, we recognise the need for strong and stable banks for our fiscal responsibilities,” Yattani said.
“All stakeholders including Parliament have been consulted. The government is confident that these engagements will yield positive results for banks involved and support the bigger government agenda of strengthening the financial sector in the country,” Yattani said.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) says KCB Group’s bid will go ahead if its offer is accepted by 75% of National’s shareholders. “If the threshold for acceptance is not met then the offer fails but if it is met it is deemed successful,” Reuters Africa quoted the CMA.
The offer is subject to regulatory approvals pursuant to regulation 4(1) of the Capital Markets (Take-overs and Mergers) Regulations, 2002.
