UPDATE 1-Nigeria's expanding Access Bank buys Atlas Mara's BancABC stake

(Updates with share price)
By Chijioke Ohuocha
ABUJA, April 19 (Reuters) - Nigeria's biggest lender Access
Bank has agreed to buy a majority stake in African Banking
Corporation of Botswana for cash, a month after acquiring a
South African bank.
Access Bank ACCESS.LG is expanding across the African
continent to counter stagflation and dollar shortages in Nigeria
that have frustrated businesses, shrinking the lending market.
The Nigerian bank will acquire just over 78% of BancABC
Botswana ABC.BT for an undisclosed cash sum of around 1.13
times book value as well as a two-year deferred payment, Atlas
Mara said in a statement on Monday.
The deal with ABC Holdings, the local unit of London-listed
Atlas Mara ATMA.L , expands Access Bank's African presence to
10 countries. It is expected to close before the end of the
second quarter.
Access Bank shares fell 1.32% to 7.50 naira. They have
fallen 36% from a peak of 11.77 naira in January last year,
before it acquired Kenya's Transnational Bank.
"We remain committed to a disciplined and thoughtful
expansion strategy in Africa, which we believe will create
strong, sustainable returns," Access Group Chief Executive
Herbert Wigwe said.
BancABC is Botswana's fifth largest bank and has a quality
retail loan book with the scope for expansion into corporate and
small to medium-sized enterprise lending, Access said.
Nigerian lenders have been seeking new ways to boost profit
amid slow economic growth at home, a drop in government bond
yields and a rise in restructured loans due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Access Bank bought a controlling stake in South Africa's
Grobank for around $60 million in March, becoming the first
Nigerian lender to venture into South Africa. It has also struck
recent deals in Zambia and Mozambique. With more than $16 billion of assets and a focus on
corporate and retail banking, Access is restructuring into a
holding company to drive its international expansion.