The merger deal between Access Bank and the defunct Intercontinental Bank in the last year has been adjudged Africa�s top merger and acquisition (M&A) deal by the Banker Magazine.
The magazine, a member of the Financial Times stable of publications, therefore selected Access Bank and Intercontinental Bank deal as the �2012 Mergers and Acquisitions Deal of the Year� for Africa.
Access Bank was the first to embark on a seamless acquisition of Intercontinental Bank following approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the bank and others to be sold to save depositors� investments.
Intercontinental Bank has since been integrated into the Bank, making Access Bank to emerge among the top five banks in the country.
The Banker�s Deals of the Year Awards celebrate the most impressive transactions in capital raising, M&A Corporate and SSA bonds, infrastructure and project finance, loans, structured finance, equities, restructuring, Islamic finance and this year a newly-added trade finance category.
Many deals were undertaken in very difficult market conditions, while banks from emerging markets are noticeably playing a larger role in the top transactions of their countries.
Indeed, the takeover of Intercontinental Bank by Access Bank last year was a product of Nigeria�s 2009 banking crisis. Intercontinental Bank, one of the country�s biggest lenders, was among the 10 to fail stress-test carried out by CBN in the latter-half of the year. The bank, like the other nine, was forced to accept capital from the government and was given two years to recapitalise further -- to the extent that it can stand on its own feet.
Many banks initially lined up to buy Intercontinental Bank Plc, hoping to get their hands on the lender�s large branch networks and asset base to establish themselves among the biggest players in Nigeria. However, Access Bank Plc, already a large lender in Nigeria, emerged victorious.
Consequently, the acquisition has substantially changed the face of the Nigeria banking sector as Access Bank now enters into the top tier, which previously comprised First Bank, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank) and United Bank for Africa, (UBA).
The big four has now become the big 5: Access Bank has risen to become the third-largest Nigerian bank by assets. Access Bank�s acquisition has increased competition in the already fierce retail market in Nigeria, and could well drive down costs for consumers.
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