The Equity Group Holdings L is set to acquire a controlling stake in a Rwandan bank at RWF54.68 billion (Ksh6.67 billion – $47.75 million), marking the latest in a series of deals that have seen Kenyan banks nearly double their profitability in the East African region in just a year.
The lender, which tops the profitability chart in Kenya, announced on Wednesday it has signed an agreement to acquire a 91.9 percent stake in Compagnie Générale De Banque Plc (Cogebanque) in a deal that values the Rwandan bank at Ksh7.26 billion ($51.97 million).
Equity will buy the stake from the Government of Rwanda, Rwanda Social Security Board, Sanlam Vie Plc and Ms Judith Mugirasoni and plans to eventually make an offer to buy the remaining shares.
“By acquiring Cogebanque, Equity Group will be able to expand its footprint and consolidate its position in Rwanda,” said James Mwangi, chief executive at Equity Group in a notice.
This is the second attempt by Equity to buy a bank in Rwanda, coming months after the collapse of a deal in which Equity was to buy 62 percent of the share capital of Rwanda’s Banque Populaire du Rwanda from Atlas Mara.
The deal flopped in July 2020 alongside that of buying 100 percent of African Banking Corporation of Zambia, African Banking Corporation Tanzania and African Banking Corporation Mozambique.
