Kenyattas’ bank in bid to acquire Rwandese lender
Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), which is majority-owned by the Kenyatta family, is in the running to acquire the Rwandese subsidiary of Uganda’s Crane Bank in what marks the latest expansion of the wealthy family’s empire.
CBA already operates an equivalent of mobile banking service M-Shwari in Rwanda using a microfinance licence.
The Nairobi-based lender is looking to outbid rival banks that are also seeking to purchase Crane Bank Rwanda branches currently owned by Dfcu Bank.
The Bank of Uganda last October took over the management of Crane Bank — at the time the country’s fourth-largest lender — due to under-capitalisation and in January sold it to Dfcu, which is now seeking to offload the Rwandese unit.
10 AFRICAN COUNTRIES
If CBA is successful in its bid, the mid-tier Kenyan lender will have a physical presence in four countries, including Uganda and Tanzania, moving it closer to its target of having operations in 10 African countries.
The Business Daily’s sources indicate that Dfcu’s sale of part of its Rwandese business is now awaiting regulatory approval and that the deal should be complete by the end of this month.
CBA had not responded to our queries on the pending acquisition by the time this story was published.
Read the full story here.
SOURCE: Business Daily
