Afreximbank supports Titan Trust Bank with $300m for acquisition of Union Bank
Titan Trust Bank (TTB) has received a $300 million Intra-African Investment Financing Facility from Afreximbank to help it acquire a controlling share in Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) plc.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Amadou Sall, Afreximbank’s Media Contact, on Monday.
The agreement, according to Sall, will improve the competitive dynamics of the Nigerian banking market while retaining confidence in the country’s financial services and overall financial stability.
The statement reads, “African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced the disbursement of a US$300 million Intra-African Investment Financing Facility to Titan Trust Bank (TTB) to support its acquisition of a majority stake in Union Bank Plc, Nigeria (UBN).”
He said the recently disbursed facility would complement the funds required for the proposed acquisition.
“Afreximbank’s financial support enables TTB to secure the acquisition of a well-capitalised bank with an extensive network, enabling the entity to better serve vital economic activities of the public sector, companies, and small and medium-sized enterprises,” he stated.
TTB is a member of the Tropical General Investment (TGI) Group, which is a Pan-African conglomerate with diversified investments in various industries across seven African countries and a large network of origination, distribution, and supply chain hubs, according to Sall.
TTB would use the UBN acquisition to boost its capacity to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area’s unrivalled potential, he said (AfCFTA).
Sall said Afreximbank would continue to support the newly merged entity in trade finance to promote intra- and extra-African trade through its broad range of programmes and initiatives.
He said, “The development impact of the acquisition is immense as TTB will leverage the merged entity to provide financing of about three billion dollars over the medium term of which over 600 million dollars will directly support intra-regional trade finance.”
“The bank remains committed to enhancing the position of indigenous financial institutions,” said Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, according to the statement.
According to Oramah, this would give Africa more control over its financial markets and strengthen the continent’s economic resilience.
“As international capital retreats from Africa, we must redouble our efforts to build an effective and resilient financial services sector on the continent committed to intra-African trade and investments and the development of regional value chains.
“Afreximbank is confident that the transaction will engender confidence in the Nigerian financial system and attract additional capital investments. It would also support the financial inclusion of small-scale enterprises, women-led businesses, youth enterprises and start-ups which are critical to the successful implementation of the AfCFTA.”
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Titan Trust Bank, a subsidiary of TGI Group recently completed a majority stake acquisition in Union Bank of Nigeria. The Titan Trust Bank is Nigeria’s newest national commercial bank. It started operations in October 2019 with a strong capital basis and has shown significant growth, especially in difficult times, demonstrating precision in plan execution.
It was reported that some minority shareholders of Union Bank Plc have expressed worry over the acquisition of the over 100 years old bank by Titan Trust Bank Limited whose footprint in Nigeria is not more than two years oldNairametrics also recently reported of strong indications that a mass resignation is brewing at the bank as most of its staff are already considering resigning for fear of an impending sack following the acquisition of the bank by Titan Trust Bank.
