PHB SET TO BUY SPRING BANK

By Udeme Ekwere
Published: Wednesday, 8 Oct 2008
The move by BankPHB to acquire Spring Bank Plc is officially underway, as the shareholders of the former have endorsed the proposal.

At the company’s extraordinary general meeting in Lagos on Tuesday, the shareholders gave full approval to the bank to continue with the process.

As part of the arrangement, the shareholders authorised the directors to allot such number of shares in the capital of the bank not exceeding N10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, upon such terms as they deem fit, to shareholders of Spring Bank Plc.”

According to the President, Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Dr. Faruk Umar, the acquisition would add value to the bank, which would bring about profitability and increase in the bank’s networking.

He, however, decried a recent statement by the House of Representatives that the bank should not acquire Spring Bank, noting that “If a case is before the court, the House of Reps had no jurisdiction over it, or to dictate to the authorities what they are to do.

Speaking on the acquisition, the Chief Executive Officer, BankPHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, said that the bank believed that at the completion of the transaction, BankPHB would emerge one of the top five banks in the country, adding that by the move, shareholders stood to benefit in the short-term, medium-term and long-term.

According to him, with the structures which Spring Bank already had on ground, the move will also serve to increase profitability, as well as the asset base when the bank has acquired it.

Bank PHB has in the last three years emerged as one of Nigeria’s fastest growing banks, growing at an average rate of three times the average growth rate of the Nigerian banking industry and delivering great returns to its shareholders. Analysts generally acknowledge that Bank PHB has offered one of the highest returns to shareholders in the Nigerian banking industry.

Atuche explained that the choice of Spring Bank as its target for acquisition was informed by the fact that the bank possessed some intrinsic value which Bank PHB intended to exploit.