After last September’s total acquisition of the struggling Oceanic Bank by its parent firm Ecobank Transnational Incorporation, Ecobank Nigeria Plc said on Monday that it would seek shareholders’
approval at the next meeting on December 22 to merge its operations with its old rival Oceanic Bank.
If the mergers proves successful, shareholders in the enlarged Ecobank would get one share in ETI for every 5.16 Ecobank shares owned. Pan-African lender ETI would then own the merged entity and Ecobank would subsequently delist from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Oceanic, one of nine banks rescued in a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) bailout in 2009, has already been delisted.
The merger is subject to regulatory approval, Ecobank said in a notice to shareholders.
ETI’s Chief Executive Arnold Ekpe told Reuters last week that ETI would complete merging the operations of its Nigerian unit with Oceanic by the end of 2012 and that the legal merger would be completed this year.
He said the merger had seen Ecobank climb to become the fifth-biggest lender in Nigeria, from 14th a year ago.
ETI said on Thursday it had obtained a $285 million loan from South Africa’s Nedbank to support its acquisition of Oceanic. Nedbank will be able to convert the loan into 20 per cent equity in Ecobank in 24 to 36 months, it said.