• Bidvest cancels sale of Bidvest Bank to Access Bank

• Deal worth 2.8 billion rand failed after unmet conditions

• Group relaunches bank sale as part of broader restructuring 

South African conglomerate Bidvest Group announced on Monday, February 9, that the sale of its banking subsidiary Bidvest Bank to Nigerian group Access Bank had fallen through after the buyer failed to meet certain conditions.

“The parties have been actively working together to secure approvals. It is, however, unfortunate that certain conditions were not fulfilled by Access Bank plc by the contractually agreed long stop date resulting in the termination of the transaction,” the company said in a disclosure update.

Access Bank reached an agreement with Bidvest Group on December 12, 2024, to acquire 100% of Bidvest Bank for approximately 2.8 billion rand (around $157 million at the time). The deal was reached five months after the parent company put the banking subsidiary up for sale as part of a strategy to refocus on its core businesses, particularly hygiene, freight management, and the distribution of plumbing products and related supplies.

The transaction, which was part of Access Bank’s expansion across Africa, was expected to be finalized during the second half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

Restructuring

Bidvest said in a notice published on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange website that it had already restarted the process of selling Bidvest Bank, with proceeds intended to pay down its current debt.

“The considered rationale behind the original Bidvest Financial Services division’s restructure, and disposal decision, remains a strategic imperative. Bidvest has now relaunched the disposal process. We remain confident in our ability to successfully execute this disposal and will endeavor to accelerate transaction timeframes,” the notice said.

The group added that the bank remains sufficiently capitalized, with ratios above minimum regulatory thresholds, and said it would continue to support Bidvest Bank to ensure its financial strength and operational stability during a transition period.

The planned sale of Bidvest Bank is part of a broader restructuring of Bidvest Group’s financial services division. The group has around 250 subsidiaries and employs more than 130,000 people in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Australia and Singapore.

Separately, the group announced an agreement to sell 100% of its life insurance subsidiary, Bidvest Life, to a consortium of private equity funds focused on financial services.

Bidvest Group had already finalized the sale of its subsidiary FinGlobal Migration in September 2025. The company, which provides financial services to South African emigrants, was sold to local group Momentum for 200 million rand (around $12.5 million).

Walid Kéfi