First Bank, Oceanic merger talks stalled

The merger and acquisition talks between First Bank of Nigeria Plc and Oceanic Bank International Plc have reached a deadlock.

The management of the two banks had been talking secretly on a merger and acquisition deal.

Both banks, however, said on Monday, that they had discontinued the discussions because of their inability to reach an agreement.

Oceanic Bank, in a statement, said that it discontinued talks with First Bank due to an unacceptable offer by the bank.

However, First Bank said it stopped the acquisition talks in order to protect the interest of its shareholders.

A statement by Oceanic Bank said, “In a bid to put its recapitalisation plans into proper perspective, the board and management of Oceanic Bank wishes to inform all stakeholders that it has been in discussions with First Bank regarding a possible merger and acquisition and have reached a mutual agreement to discontinue further discussions, owing to the inability of both parties to agree on a commercial consideration. This is due to the offer as presented by First Bank, not being acceptable to the board of Oceanic Bank.”

It added, “Oceanic Bank has several other alternatives with regards to ongoing recapitalisation plans, all of which will be explored accordingly. The bank wishes to assure all stakeholders that it remains committed to recapitalisation efforts and will unfold a strategic road map in the next couple of weeks detailing such.”

The Managing Director, First Bank, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, however, said that the bank had decided against purchasing Oceanic Bank .

Bloomberg quoted Onasanya as saying in an interview with CNBC Africa that, “First Bank plans to concentrate on organic growth. We had always been clear from the beginning that we would only do a deal that would bring value to our shareholders.”

Source : Punch