Access Holdings Plc, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, is estimated to acquire South Africa’s Bidvest Bank Holdings Ltd. for 2.3 billion rand ($133 million), securing a key foothold in Africa’s most industrialised economy.
The cash consideration is significantly lower than the 2.8 billion rand ($159 million) valuation sources put forward when the deal was first announced. The acquisition from Bidvest Group Ltd. is a strategic move to bolster Access Bank’s existing South African unit, which reported a loss of ₦17.39 billion ($11.2 million) in the nine months ending September 2024. Bidvest Bank, in contrast, is profitable, reporting $20 million in pre-tax profits by June 2024.
The South African purchase is the latest in a string of deals for the Lagos-based lender as it builds a pan-African financial network. Access Holdings, the parent company, is also finalising a $109.6 million (₦179.1 billion) payment to KCB Group for the acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK). That deal, completed in May 2025, is designed to capture market share in East Africa’s largest economy, where Access Bank’s local arm reported a $1.47 million loss in the first half of 2025.
For the seller, Bidvest Group, the disposal marks a strategic pivot away from financial services to concentrate on its core businesses in hygiene, facilities management, and distribution.
The completion of the Bidvest transaction remains subject to pending closing conditions, as noted in Access Bank’s half-year financial statement. “Accordingly, the transaction has not been recognised or accounted for in these interim financial statements.”
