Union Bank Acquired by Titan Trust Bank

The Union Bank of Nigeria Plc  has just been acquired by one of the fastest growing and customer-centric financial service providers in Nigeria Titan Trust Bank Limited (TTB), thereby making Union Global Partners Limited, Atlas Mara limited and all the majority shareholders to divest 88.39% shareholding in Union bank to Titan Trust Bank.

In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and the Security Exchange Commission, on Thursday, the board of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc explained that their agreement, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other financial conditions will transfer 89.3 9% Bank’s issued share capital to Titan Trust Bank.

Speaking to Newsmen, the Union Bank Chairman, Mrs Beatrice Hamza Bassey, congratulated all the parties involved in getting into the current phase of the transaction while ensuring that the board looks forward to supporting the next steps to see to the seamless completion of the process, following regulatory approvals.

Hear her: ‘We are grateful to our current investors whose significant and consequential investments over the past nine years facilitated the transformation of Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s oldest and storied institutions. Today, the bank is well-positioned with an innovative product offering, a growing customer base of over six million and consistent year on year profitability. This is a solid foundation for our incoming investors to build on as we move into a new era for the bank.’

On his part, the Chairman, Titan Trust Bank, Mr Tunde Lemo, OFR however said, that the board of Titan Trust Bank, who are their key stakeholders were happy as the merger served as a key step for Titan Trust Bank in its strategic growth journey and moved the institution to the next level in the Nigerian banking sector.

His words: ‘The deal represents a unique opportunity to combine Union Bank’s longstanding and leading banking franchise with TTB’s innovation-led model which promises to enhance the product and service offering for our combined valued customers’.

CEO of Union bank Mr Emeka Okonkwo on his part, described the current transaction as one that marks a significant milestone in the journey of their 104-year old bank. He thanked the current investors for their unwavering commitment to the bank all these years, while welcoming the new core investor, TTB. He lauded what he called the strategic fit between the two institutions, even as he anticipated that the deal will produce the best results for their employees, customers and stakeholders, while looking forward to collectively writing the next exciting chapter for Union Bank.

Titan Trust Bank CEO, Mr Mudassir Amray, on his part, said that after completing above 2 years of operations with aggressive organic growth, they found their opportunities for significant leap forward in the market share, exciting. He stated that UBN’s widespread presence, top notch technology platform, quality staff and strong brand loyalty blends well with their synchronized modular strategy wild and look forward to delivering great results that will benefit their customers, staff, stakeholders and shareholders.

The statement indicated that Rothschild & Cie acted as financial adviser and White and Case LLP and Banwo & Ighodalo acted as legal adviser, respectively to the selling shareholders of Union Bank, while Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as financial adviser Pricewaterhouse Coopers as due diligence partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Drew Law Practice and G.Elias & Co. acted as legal advisers respectively to Titan Trust Bank.

While Union bank is a household name and one of Nigerians long-standing and most respected financial institutions with a network of over 280 sales and service centres across the country, Titan Trust Bank is the newest national commercial Bank in Nigeria.