South Africa’s Standard Bank launched a tender offer Monday for shares in Nigerian investment bank IBTC Chartered Bank Plc, which has agreed to merge with Standard’s Nigerian unit Stanbic, Reuters reports.
Standard Bank, Africa’s top banking group by assets, said last week it had raised its offer price to 16 naira (12 U.S. cents) per share from 11.74 naira, saying the new offer was worth approximately $400 million.
The increased offer reflects the performance of Nigerian banking stocks, which rose 34 percent from March to July, Standard Bank says. Trading in IBTC shares was suspended during that period following the merger announcement.
Standard Bank said the tender offer would be open until Aug. 13. It says it will merge Stanbic and IBTC in exchange for 6.25 billion shares in the Nigerian investment bank, equivalent to a 33.33 percent interest in the enlarged IBTC.
“We believe that the price being offered recognises the premium value of the shares and gives more than excellent returns for shareholders,” says Greg Brackenridge, Standard’s regional managing director in West Africa.
Clive Tasker, managing director of the Southern Africa region of Standard Bank, told a regional newspaper the bank would not increase its 16 naira per share offer any further.
But Akintunde Asalu, president of the Nigeria Shareholders’ Solidarity Association, suggested the offer should be closer to 30 naira.
There also have been varying reports that Standard Bank’s Stanbic plans to buy shares in the Agricultural Bank of Ghana (ADB) – ranging from 48 percent ownership to a full buyout. However, the minister of finance and economic planning in Ghana has denied the rumors.