Fidelity Bank Acquires 100% Stake in Union Bank UK Subsidiary

Kayode Tokede

Fidelity Bank Plc yesterday, disclosed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that it has completed the acquisition of the 100 per cent equity in Union Bank UK, a subsidiary of the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

The lender had in August 2022, announced the proposed acquisition of the UK subsidiary of Union Bank. According to the 2022 annual reports of Union Bank, the former owners of UBUK, the subsidiary was sold for a cash consideration of N8.3 billion, effective May 31, 2022.

In its latest update on the acquisition, Company Secretary, Fidelity Bank, Ezinwa Unuigboje, in a signed statement posted on the NGX explained, “The bank is pleased to announce the completion of the transaction and receipt of the approval of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority for change of control of UBUK.

“The acquisition of UBUK is in furtherance of Fidelity Bank Plc’s strategic initiatives on international expansion.”
The bank had earlier received a letter of ‘No Objection’ to the transaction from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In the corporate notice, the Board of Directors of the bank said they were, “confident that the acquisition will unlock significant value for the Fidelity Bank Group and is taking action to ensure the seamless integration of the operations of both entities.”

Meanwhile, the shareholders of Fidelity Bank Plc would get an interim dividend of 25 kobo per share, amounting to N8 billion for the half-year financial period ended June 30, 2023.

In H1 2023, the lender grew its gross earnings by 59.6 per cent to N247.1billion; driven by 39.4 per cent growth in interest income and 207.2 per cent increase in non-interest income as shown in the audited financial report.
Also, the bank’s total deposits crossed the N3 trillion mark as customer deposits grew by 23.2 per cent year-to-date to N3.2trillion from N2.6triillon in 2022 financial year.