Access Bank is set to acquire Bidvest Bank for R2.8 billion, subject to regulatory approvals.
The deal between Bidvest Bank and Nigeria’s largest lender, Access Bank, is one step closer to being concluded.
Access Bank is set to acquire Bidvest Bank for R2.8 billion, subject to regulatory approvals.
Bidvest Bank released its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2025 on Monday, with its CEO, Mpumi Madisa, saying the bank delivered “resilient results, supported by an improved second half performance, excellent operational cash generation, and the addition of North America as a new growth market.”
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Bidvest Bank to be sold
Bidvest Bank entered into an agreement with Access Bank on 12 December 2024, under which the latter will acquire 100% of Bidvest Bank’s share capital and claims.
Bidvest Bank is a full-service bank offering customers foreign exchange, fleet, business and personal financial solutions.
Access Bank is a commercial bank with more than 60 million customers globally, operating a network of more than 700 branches across 23 countries on three continents.
Bidvest’s financial results stated that regulatory approvals are expected within the next three months.
Bidvest disposes of more business
“During the period, the Financial Services segment was dismantled, and a formal process was initiated to dispose of Bidvest Bank and FinGlobal.
“FinGlobal is a cross-border financial services company providing premier financial emigration services to South Africans all over the world.
“Bidvest Bank and FinGlobal constituted the majority of the Financial Services Segment,” read the financial results.
Bidvest sold 100% of its share capital of FinGlobal Migration to Momentum Strategic Investments Pty Ltd for R201 million.
“Effective 30 April 2025, the group also disposed of the share capital in Bidvest Asset Management (Pty) Ltd for R2 million.”
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R12 billion profit
The Bidvest Group offers a wide range of business-to-business services and products. After disposing of the bank and FinGlobal, the group is left with Branded Products, which includes Waltons and Commercial Products, representing brands such as HiKOKI and Tesa Tapes, among others.
According to the results, the Bidvest group generated a profit of R12 billion during the period, while its revenue for the year was R126.6 billion.
“Whilst an earnings contraction in Freight (-10.0%) and Commercial Products (-28.4%) continued into the second half, the exceptionally strong profit growth in Services SA (+13.6%), Services International (+12.1%) and Branded Products (+7.8%) must be applauded.
“Automotive (+2.5%) improved profitability and, excluding restructuring costs, delivered an excellent result,” said the group.
Acquisition of Citron Hygiene
The financial results also include that the group has acquired Citron Hygiene.
“The successful acquisition of Citron provides a strategic platform for multi-year hygiene services growth in North America, while the award of a new 25-year concession in Richards Bay enables further domestic investment in long-dated terminal assets.”
100% share capital of the Citron Hygiene Holdings was acquired on 1 April 2025 for R5 billion. The business is based in Toronto, Canada and serves approximately 50 000 customers from seven branches in Canada, four in the USA and ten in the UK.
“Through Citron Hygiene, the Group acquires a presence in the North American hygiene market and benefits from increased scale in the UK. Citron Hygiene was acquired using the Group’s existing multi-currency facilities.”
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