Access Holdings Plc has terminated its proposed acquisition of South Africa’s Bidvest Bank after key regulatory conditions were not met by the agreed deadline.
In a filing to the Nigerian Exchange on Tuesday, Access Holdings said the long stop date for completing the transaction expired on January 26, 2026, without fulfilment of all required conditions. The company stated that certain conditions, including regulatory approvals, were not fully met.
Access Bank Plc, the banking subsidiary of Access Holdings, signed a binding agreement in December 2024 to acquire a 100 percent equity stake in Bidvest Bank Limited although the value of the transaction was not disclosed.
The company said the outcome reflects the complexities and extended timelines associated with multi jurisdictional regulatory and transactional processes, rather than a change in its strategic interest in the South African market.
Access Bank is Africa’s largest lender by customer base following its 2019 merger with Diamond Bank and serves more than 60 million customers. The proposed acquisition would have marked a significant expansion into South Africa’s retail and corporate banking sector.
Bidvest Group, the parent company of Bidvest Bank, confirmed in a voluntary announcement that certain conditions were not fulfilled by Access Bank by the contractually agreed date, resulting in the termination of the transaction.
Bidvest said it has relaunched the disposal process as part of its ongoing restructuring of its financial services portfolio. The company described the restructuring as a strategic priority and said it will seek to accelerate transaction timelines.
Access Bank Managing Director Roosevelt Ogbonna said the bank remains constructively engaged with stakeholders and reaffirmed confidence in South Africa’s financial market. Both parties said Bidvest Bank remains well capitalised and operationally sound as the renewed disposal process proceeds.
