Zenith Bank Plc has denied news reports over plans to acquire one of the country’s banks.
Last week, Nairametrics reported ongoing talks between Zenith Bank Plc and Union Bank of Nigeria Plc over merger and acquisition deal.
“Zenith Bank Plc has reportedly been given the green light to merge or acquire Union Bank Nigeria Plc,” the report quoted industry sources.
But in a reaction posted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday, March 17th, 2020, Michael Osilama Otu, Zenith Bank secretary, dismissed the report.
“We hereby state categorically that Zenith Bank Plc has not made any binding offer to acquire any financial institution.”
Just last week reports from the Daily Independent suggest Nigeria’s oldest bank First Bank was also on track to merge or acquire Polaris and Heritage Banks respectively. The bank issued a press release on the Nigerian stock exchange that did not deny the claims but also did not confirm if it is true.
In 2018 Access Bank and Diamond Bank also denied any merger plans when we reached out to them when the initial merger news broke. Both banks eventually announced a deal and consummated a merger in December 2018. Deals like these are typically not confirmed until the clearance is obtained from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
