Kenya’s I&M Holdings completes acquisition of Uganda’s Orient Bank Ltd

Uganda’s Orient Bank Ltd, one of the leading commercial banks in the country has officially been sold to Kenyan conglomerate I&M Holdings PLC.

I&M Holdings PLC announced on Monday, May 3rd that they had acquired the bank from its majority shareholders, namely the UK based 8 Miles LLP and Dr. Ketan Morjaria of the Kololo based Morka Holdings.

Orient Bank is the 12th largest commercial bank licensed and established in Uganda.

I&M Holdings and Orient Bank Limited signed an agreement in July 2020 for I&M Holdings PLC to acquire 90 percent shareholding of Orient Bank.

The acquisition was completed on 30th April 2021 after receiving the necessary approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya, Bank of Uganda, Capital Markets Authority of Kenya and the COMESA Competition Authority.

The Kenyan conglomerate which is made up of banks, an insurance company and investment advisory businesses, has been moving to expand in the region having opened up earlier in Rwanda, Tanzania and Mauritius.

“A key focus of this strategy is to seek opportunities to invest at a local and regional level enabling the Bank to serve the needs of all customers, while promoting trade flows within the region,” the said in a statement.

With this acquisition I&M said, Orient Bank customers will now be able to access their bank accounts across the five countries where I&M has presence.

Commenting on the acquisition, I&M Holding’s Executive Director, Sarit Raja Shah noted, “I&M Group aspires to be Eastern Africa’s leading financial partner for growth”.

“This acquisition is expected to give the Group greater capacity to grow profitably, through extending our network to our Regional customers.

Dr. Ketan Morjaria, a founding member of OBL and continuing shareholder and Director said “This acquisition marks a great milestone in the history of Orient Bank. We are proud to be integrating into a regional group like I&M Holdings PLC, which synergies will allow our customers to benefit from more seamless and superior banking products whilst continuing a tradition of trust.”

Kumaran Pather, CEO of OBL said “The acquisition of OBL by I&M Holdings PLC, will see the new entity rise to greater heights and allow us to broaden our market reach and penetration. The management of OBL is excited to be part of a large and growing Group and look forward to serving both new and existing customers with better products and digital channels across the region.”

Through the acquisition, I&M Group has acquired additional net loan assets value of approximately USH 262 billion, deposits of USH 606 billion, a customer base of 68787, a staff component of 340 employees and a network of 14 branches and 22 ATMs across the country.