How Tunde Lemo’s Titan Trust Bank Acquired 90% Union Bank Shares

Core investors at Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, have concluded plans to sell their majority stake worth 89.9 per cent of the financial institution’s shares to Titan Trust Bank Limited.

The Board of Union Bank of Nigeria made the announcement on Thursday while notifying the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) that its investors which include Union Global Partners Limited, Atlas Mara Limited and other shareholders have reached an agreement with Titan Trust Bank (TTB) to divest their shareholding in the bank.

The agreement is subject to regulatory approvals and other financial conditions.

Commenting on the transaction, the Chair of Union Bank of Nigeria board, Mrs Beatrice Hamza Bassey expressed appreciation to the shareholders for their investments over the years that have contributed to the success of the bank.

“On behalf of the Board, we congratulate all the parties involved in reaching this phase of the transaction and the Board looks forward to supporting the next steps to ensure a seamless completion of the process following regulatory approvals. We are grateful to our current investors whose significant and consequential investments over the past nine years facilitated the transformation of Union Bank, one of Nigeria’s oldest and storied institutions.

“Today, the Bank is well-positioned with an innovative product offering, a growing customer base of over six million and consistent year on year profitability. This is a solid foundation for our incoming investors to build on as we move into a new era for the Bank,” Bassey stated.

Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank, Mr Emeka Okonkwo said, the transaction “marks a significant milestone in the journey of the bank which has been in existence for 104 years. Okonkwo said the institution is grateful to its “current investors for their unwavering commitment to the Bank over the years,” and welcomed the new core investor, which is TTB.

“We recognize the strategic fit between the two institutions and expect that this deal will deliver the best outcome for our employees, customers and stakeholders. We look forward to collectively writing the next exciting chapter for Union Bank,” Okonkwo stated.

Also speaking about the transaction, the Chair, Titan Trust Bank, Mr. Tunde Lemo, described the transaction as a delightful one.

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Lemo said, “The Board of Titan Trust Bank and our key stakeholders are delighted as this transaction marks a key step for Titan Trust in its strategic growth journey and propels the institution to the next level in the Nigerian banking sector.

“The deal represents a unique opportunity to combine Union Bank’s longstanding and leading banking franchise with TTB’s innovation-led model which promises to enhance the product and service offering for our combined valued customers.”

Chief Executive Officer of TTB, Mr Mudassir Amray stated that successful execution of the deal offers the company an opportunity to make significant progress in market share acquisition.

“After completing over two years of operations with aggressive organic growth, we are excited to have an opportunity for a significant leap forward in market share. UBN’s widespread presence, state of the art technology platform, quality staff and strong brand loyalty fits well with our synchronized modular strategy. We look forward to delivering superior results for the benefit of our staff, customers, shareholders, and stakeholders.”

For organisations that offered ancillary services, Rothschild & Cie acted as financial adviser and White & Case LLP and Banwo & Ighodalo acted as legal advisers respectively, to the selling shareholders of Union Bank.

On the side of TTB, Citigroup Global Markets Limited acted as financial adviser, while Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) acted as due diligence partner. Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Drew Law Practise and G. Elias & Co. acted as legal advisers.

Union Bank is one of the old generation banks established in 1917 and listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1971, and currently has a network of over 280 Sales and Service Centers across Nigeria.

Titan Trust Bank is a relatively new financial institution set up in 2017 and with a strong equity base, has demonstrated precision in execution of its strategy by showing tremendous growth, even in difficult time.

The bank has won ‘Best Trade Finance Provider in Nigeria’ for 2022 by Global Finance (for the second year running) and ‘Best New Commercial Banking Brand’ and ‘Fastest Growing Digital Banking Brand’ for 2021 by the Global Brand.