First Bank of Nigeria Plc (FBN)has announced the acquisition of the remaining shares of its Congo subsidiary. The bank had in October 2011 acquired 75% of BIC based in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
What FBN DRC stands to gain from the acquisition
FBN DRC Managing Director Akeem Oladele stated that the acqusion would enable it leverage on the strength of the parent bank, and double its efforts to become one of the top 3 banks in Congo.
“With 100% holding by FirstBank, FBNBank DRC now has much greater flexibility to deliver differentiated propositions by fully tapping into the resources and innovative capabilities of FirstBank in 8 countries, on 3 continents. FBNBank DRC is also now uniquely positioned to deepen customer reach, broaden offerings and accelerate its growth from top 5 to top 3 in DRC.”
First Bank DRC was founded in 1994 under the name Banque Internationale De Credit (BIC). In July 2008, two large international investment groups, namely Benny Steinmetz Group (BSG) and Dan Gertler International (DGI) became shareholders in BIC. In July 2015, BIC rebranded to FBN Bank DRC.
For the half year ended June 2017, show gross earnings increased from N267.9 billion in 2016 to N288.8 billion in 2017. The bank made a profit before tax of N28.9 billion, compared to N35.8 billion in 2016.First Bank shares are currently trading at N5.40 in today’s session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Year to date, the shares are up 63.285.
