I&M Bank completes acquisition of Ugandan lender
Monday May 03 2021
I&M Bank Kenya. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
I&M Holdings Plc. has completed the acquisition of 90 percent shareholding in Uganda’s privately-owned lender Orient Bank Ltd (OBL) as part of its regional expansion plan.
In a statement Monday, I&M said the acquisition was completed on April 30, 2021 after the transaction received the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya, Bank of Uganda, Capital Markets Authority of Kenya and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).
The agreement for the deal priced at Ush96.75 billion ($26.93 million) was made in July last year.
“I&M Group aspires to be Eastern Africa’s leading financial partner for growth. The acquisition of OBL will place I&M Bank in an advantageous position to capitalise on the growth in the Eastern African economies and thereby ultimately increasing shareholder value,” said Sarit Raja Shah, I&M’s Group Executive Director.
“This acquisition is expected to give the Group greater capacity to grow profitably, through extending our network to our Regional customers. Further it demonstrates our continued leadership role in the industry across East Africa.”
I&M bank currently has Ksh358.09 billion ($3.34 billion) worth of assets and a total of 79 branches in Kenya (41 branches), Rwanda (18 branches), Tanzania (8 branches) and Mauritius (12 branches).
However, the acquisition of the Ugandan lender brings with it an additional net loan asset of about Ksh7.7 billion ($71.96 million), deposits (Ksh18.2 billion, $170.09 million), customer base (70,000), a staff component of 340 employees and a network of 14 branches and 22 automated teller machines (ATMs) across the country.