Four suitors in final Chase Bank stake sale bid

The scramble to take over a controlling stake in troubled Chase Bank has entered the homestretch after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said it had shortlisted four suitors out of the 12 that expressed interest in the deal.

The mix of interested buyers included three local banks, four foreign financial institutions and five other financial institutions and consortia, according to a CBK statement released on Tuesday night.

“…a total of 12 replies to the Expression of Interest (EOI) were received. The respondents comprised of three Kenyan banks, four foreign banks, and five other financial institutions and consortia,” the CBK said in an update to interested parties, including depositors whose money is still stuck with the bank.

Evaluation

The Daily Nation has since learnt that several international banks, which have more recently been showing interest in Kenya were among those eyeing the stake in Chase Bank – hoping to use it as their route to entering the region.

The CBK is seeking to sell Chase Bank as part of a restructuring plan meant to speed up its recovery.   

“The evaluation of the EOIs has now been completed and a shortlist of qualifying investors has been identified.”

Kenya’s biggest bank by assets, KCB, is among the local lenders that had initially expressed a strong desire for a piece of Chase Bank, and has actually been managing the bank having been contracted by the receiver managers, the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC).

It was, however, not immediately possible to establish whether KCB Group is among the contenders who have made the final cut.

KCB Group chief executive Joshua Oigara said last July that his bank had no exclusive right to buy Chase and “neither was it going to be the only buyer.”