Equity Group Raises Stake in Equity Bank Congo to 94.3% 

Equity Group Holdings increased its stake in Equity Bank Congo (EBC) by another 7.7 per cent, taking its total holding to 94.3 per cent.

According to its 2020 Annual Report, the transaction was valued at $9 million (KSh996 million) from German sovereign wealth fund KfW as part of a strategy to consolidate its banking subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“On November 27, 2020, Equity bought shares previously held by KfW in Equity Bank Congo S.A. for a consideration of $9 million (KSh996 million),” the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm says in its latest annual report.

On September 30, 2015, the Kenyan lender acquired 79 per cent of Equity Bank Congo S.A, merging with Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC), in which it had recently acquired a 66.53 per cent stake at a cost of $95 million (KSh10.2 billion).

The bank was renamed EquityBCDC, it has an asset base of $3 billion (KSh322 billion).

“Post-merger, Equity holds 75.5 per cent in EquityBCDC with the remainder being held by IFC (International Finance Corporation), the government of DRC and other minority shareholders,” the lender says in the report.