The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced the completion of the sale of Polaris Bank.
This was contained in a statement by the CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, on Thursday.
In it, the CBN announced the new core investor in the bank as Strategic Capital Investment Limited.
Nwanisobi said in the statement that the deal was sealed with SCIL by the CBN and Asset Management Company of Nigeria.
He announced the completion of a Share Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity in Polaris Bank by SCIL.
He added: Polaris has been operating as a bridge bank since 2018 when the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened to revoke the licence of the former Skye Bank Plc and established Polaris Bank to assume its assets and certain liabilities.
As part of the CBN intervention, consideration bonds with a face value of N898 billion (future value of N1.305 trillion) was injected into the bridge bank through AMCON, to be repaid over a 25-year period.
These actions were taken to prevent the imminent collapse of the bank, enable its stabilisation and recovery, protect depositors’ fund, prevent job losses and preserve systemic financial stability.
“SCIL has paid an upfront consideration of N50 billion to acquire 100% of the equity of Polaris Bank and has accepted the terms of the agreement which include the full repayment of the sum of N1.305 trillion, being the consideration bonds injected.
The CBN thus received an immediate return for the value it has created in Polaris Bank during the stabilisation period, as well as ensuring that all funds originally provided to support the intervention are recovered.
“The sale was coordinated by a Divestment Committee comprising representatives of the CBN and AMCON, and advised by legal and financial consultants.
The Committee conducted a sale process by ‘private treaty’, as provided in Section 34(5) of the AMCON Act to avoid negative speculations, retain value and preserve financial system stability.
In the process, parties who had formally expressed an interest in acquiring Polaris Bank, subsequent to the CBN intervention in 2018, were invited to submit financial and technical proposals.
Commenting on the transaction, the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, said: “This sale marks the completion of a landmark intervention in a strategic institution in the Nigerian banking sector by the CBN and AMCON.
