National Bank of Kenya (NBK) is set to be delisted from the Nairobi Securities Exchanges (NSE).
The financial institution was delisted from NSE following its successful acquisition by Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB Group).
In a notice, NSE said the move will be formalized on November 25 after approval by the bank’s shareholders.
“The de-listing follows the successful takeover of 100% shareholding by NBK by KCB Group PLC,” NSE said in part adding that the move is in line with the law as per Capital Markets Authority (CMA)’s regulations.
Effective September 2019, the bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kenya Commercial Bank Group.
At the time of acquisition of NBK, KCB Group stated that it intended to run NBK as a stand-alone subsidiary, for a period of at least two years, after which NBK would be integrated with KCB Bank Kenya Limited.
The bank was established in 1968 as a 100 percent government-owned financial institution.
In 1994, the Kenyan Government reduced its shareholding to 68 percent by selling 32 percent shareholding to the public.
The government further divested from NBK over the years, until its present shareholding of 22.5 percent, as of April 2019.
Following 12 years of poor financial performance, the bank became profitable again in 2010, paying out an annual dividend ever since.
In April 2019, KCB Bank Kenya Limited, the largest commercial bank in the country by assets, announced its intention to acquire 100 percent of the assets and liabilities of National Bank of Kenya, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
That acquisition was concluded on 16 September 2019.
