Merger: Diamond Bank Shareholders Set to Receive Consideration

DShareholders of Diamond Bank Plc will soon receive consideration of cash and shares following the its proposed merger with Access Bank Plc. The bank entered into merger agreement with Access Bank Plc late last year. The merger would involve Access Bank acquiring the entire issued share capital of Diamond Bank in exchange for a combination of cash and shares in Access Bank. Based on the agreement reached by the boards of the two financial institutions, Diamond Bank shareholders will receive a consideration of N3.13 per share, comprising of N1.00 per share in cash and the allotment of two new Access Bank ordinary shares for every seven Diamond Bank ordinary shares held as at the Implementation Date. Immediately following completion of the merger, Diamond Bank would be absorbed into Access Bank and it will cease to exist under Nigerian law. Also, the current listing of Diamond Bank’s shares on the NSE and the listing of Diamond Bank’s global depositary receipts on the London Stock Exchange will be cancelled, upon the merger becoming effective. In notification to the NSE yesterday, Access Bank Plc has urged shareholders of Diamond Bank to forward their accurate personal details so as to get receive the consideration. “Following the court sanction of the scheme of merger between Access Bank P lcand Diamond Bank Plc, the shareholders of Diamond Bank Plc will receive the scheme consideration of cash and shares as stipulated in the scheme document. The shareholders of Diamond Bank Plc are therefore required to take the necessary steps to ensure the accuracy of their personal details (full name, address, email address, mobile number and BVN) with the registrars of Access Bank Plc,” the bank said. Shareholders of the Diamond Bank had approved the merger early this month. Commenting on the votes by shareholders, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie, said: “I am happy that the shareholders of Diamond Bank have supported this merger. The merger will bring together the complementary retail and corporate banking capabilities of two of Nigeria’s leading banks, creating Africa’s largest retail bank by customer base and Gateway to the World.” Meanwhile, the Nigerian equities market closed the second trading session of week almost flat as the NSE All-Share Index declined marginally by 0.01 per cent to close 31,038.86. Thus, the month-to-date and the year-to-date return has declined by 2.14 per cent and 1.25 per cent respectively.