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Unity Bank Merger with Providus Bank Progresses After Approvals

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Providus Bank

Unity Bank Providus merger moves forward after CBN and SEC approvals, boosting capital base and consolidating Nigeria’s banking sector

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Unity Bank Plc has confirmed that its planned merger with Providus Bank Limited remains on track following approvals from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Also read: Unity Bank empowers Nigerian youths with financial literacy training for global money week

The approvals, together with court and shareholder endorsements, form part of the process to meet the apex bank’s recapitalisation requirements.

In a statement on Wednesday, the lender emphasised that regulatory support, including financial backing from the CBN and a “no objection” from the SEC, underpins broader efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s banking system, reinforce capital adequacy, and mitigate potential systemic risks.

Once completed, the merged entity will boast a capital base exceeding N200 billion, positioning it among the 21 banks that have met the CBN’s new threshold for national banking licences.

Integration activities between the two banks are already underway, with final court sanction expected to formalise the transaction.

Ebenezer Kolawole, Managing Director and CEO of Unity Bank, described the merger as a defining moment.

“This milestone underscores our commitment to building a stronger, more resilient bank that can deliver greater value to our customers and stakeholders,” Kolawole said.

He added that the merger enhances the institution’s operational capacity, strategic positioning, and ability to support economic growth.

Addressing speculation about delays, the bank stressed that all regulatory approvals have been secured, with remaining steps largely procedural.

Shareholders had already approved the merger on 26 September 2025.

Under the scheme, all Unity Bank assets, liabilities, and undertakings will transfer to Providus Bank, and all legal proceedings involving Unity Bank will continue under Providus Bank after court sanction.

Unity Bank shareholders will receive either N3.18 per share or 18 ordinary shares of Providus Bank for every 17 Unity Bank shares previously held.

Also read: Unity Bank Posts N36.18 Billion Gross Earnings In Nine Months

Industry analysts note that the transaction, now in its final phase, is expected to consolidate the Nigerian banking sector further, creating a stronger institution capable of competing more effectively in the national market.

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Cement costs more in Nigeria than Kenya, Togo, FCCPC finds

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Cement price manipulation is under investigation by the FCCPC after a three-month study found Nigerian prices were high despite surplus capacity

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Heirs Life Names Pastor Jerry Eze Independent Non-Executive Director

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Heirs Life appoints Jerry Eze as an Independent Non-Executive Director to strengthen financial inclusion, consumer trust and insurance adoption (more…)

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Shoreline Group secures US$200 million Afreximbank Facility

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Shoreline Group today announced that African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$200 million facility in favour of Shoreline Power Company Limited and co-borrowers including Arkad S.p.A., Shoreline’s majority-owned engineering and construction platform.
Approved in June 2026, the facility was arranged and provided by Afreximbank as sole mandated lead arranger and lender. It provides bonding and working-capital capacity for Arkad’s delivery of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz project and supports Shoreline and its affiliates in developing further pipeline and infrastructure
projects in Nigeria and other permitted jurisdictions.
“This is a defining transaction for Shoreline and Arkad. We built Arkad as an African- sponsored engineering platform capable of competing at the highest level, and it is now delivering against a billion-dollar energy contract. Afreximbank’s US$200 million commitment gives the platform the financial strength to match its engineering capability and pursue further major infrastructure mandates. It demonstrates that African enterprises can assemble the capital, capability and partnerships required to compete for infrastructure at international scale.”
Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a Arkad holds 44 per cent of the approximately US$1 billion EPCCS-1 contract awarded by Groupement
Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR) to an unincorporated consortium led by Egypt’s Petrojet, which holds 56 percent. EPCCS-1 covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up for the Phase 2a central processing facility and related infrastructure at the Hassi Bir Rekaiz field in Algeria’s Berkine
Basin.
GHBR is the joint operating entity for the licence, held by Sonatrach with 51 per cent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 49 per cent. The project includes a new crude oil processing facility with capacity of 31,500 barrels per day, facilities for associated gas and produced-water treatment, approximately 217 kilometres
of pipelines and the brownfield modifications required to integrate existing Phase 1 infrastructure.
The facilities are designed to support later expansion to 63,000 barrels per day under Phase 2b.
“This financing addresses the instruments that determine whether an EPC contractor can execute at scale: performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital through the project cycle. Hassi Bir Rekaiz is a demanding scope, combining a new central processing facility, associated treatment systems, pipelines and brownfield integration. With Petrojet, and with the support of Shoreline and Afreximbank, Arkad is focused on disciplined delivery against the project’s safety, quality and schedule requirements.”
The transaction was structured under Afreximbank’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Initiative, which supports African engineering and construction firms with the financial instruments required to compete for and execute large infrastructure contracts. Afreximbank also supported the Arkad-Petrojet partnership through its EPC twinning work at the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers
in 2025.
According to Afreximbank, the transaction is its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor undertaking a major infrastructure project in North Africa. For Shoreline, it demonstrates a practical model for combining African ownership and capital with established international engineering andindustrial capability.

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