KCB signs deal to buy two banks in Rwanda, Tanzania

KCB Group has signed a deal with London-listed financial services firm Atlas Mara Limited to buy stakes in it's banking units in Rwanda and Tanzania, its chief executive Joshua Oigara announced on Thursday.

The proposed transaction will see Kenya’s biggest lender by assets acquire Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc (BPR) and the African Banking Corporation Tanzania (BancABC).

Under the proposed deal KCB said it will the acquire a 62.06 per cent stake in Banque Populaire du Rwanda Plc and a 100 per cent stake in African Banking Corporation Tanzania.

The transaction is subject to obtaining shareholder and regulatory approvals in Rwanda and Tanzania.

Mr Oigara said the transaction is part of KCB’s "ongoing strategy to explore opportunities for new growth while investing in and maximising returns from the Group’s existing businesses."

“The transaction fits within the Group’s expansion strategy and will see us increase our market share and distribution network across Rwanda and Tanzania and improve our operating leverage by enabling us to deliver our existing product offerings to a wider base of customers while positioning the bank for sustainable growth in the long-term,” said Mr Oigara.

The KCB deal comes months after Equity Bank Group #ticker:EQTY called off its plan to acquire four banking subsidiaries from Atlas Mara Limited in a move aimed at preserving its capital in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The parties had initiated talks in April last year, but the negotiations targeting Atlas Mara’s units in Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique dragged on until the pandemic hit.

The London-listed firm had said then it would seek for another buyer for the four banks after the Equity deal collapsed.