Access Bank, Diamond Bank successfully complete merger to create one of Africa's largest banks

Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, Diamond Bank CEO, Uzoma Dozie and other top management at a World Press Conference, December 19, 2018.


On Tuesday, Access Bank Plc, in a corporate disclosure said it had received the court sanction of its merger with Diamond Bank. This means the two entity becomes one.

The court sanction came less than one week after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted final approval for the take-off.

With the final merger approval, the stock regulator placed Diamond Bank Plc on full suspension to allow the banks to determine the shareholders that will be entitled to receive the Scheme Consideration and at what rate.

“Having received the Final Approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities & Exchange Commission to the proposed Merger between Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc - following the approval of shareholders that was obtained at the respective Court-Ordered Meetings held on March 5, 2019 - Diamond Bank Plc hereby confirms that shares of the Bank was placed on Full Suspension today, March 20, 2019.

“The Full Suspension will enable the Bank to determine the shareholders that will be entitled to receive the Scheme Consideration. Shareholders and other investors are requested to please note that following the Full Suspension of March 20, 2019 - the last trade day was Tuesday, March 19, 2019, following which there will be no further trades in the shares of Diamond Bank Plc. The Court Sanction of the Merger was obtained on March 19, 2019, ” Uzoma Uja, Company Secretary/Legal Adviser at Diamond Bank said in a separate release.

The two banks announced the merger scheme in December 2018, a move that will see Diamond Bank transfer all its assets, liabilities and undertakings to Access Bank and the entire issued share capital of Diamond Bank cancelled.

Shareholders of Diamond Bank will receive a cash consideration of N1 per share and two ordinary shares from the merger Access Bank Plc for every seven ordinary shares of Diamond Bank held effective from March 19, 2019.

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