Major South African bank closer to getting a new owner

Bidvest Bank is in the process of being sold to Nigerian banking giant Access Bank, which has steadily grown its presence in South Africa since its entry into the country in 2020. 

The disposal of the bank is currently in a regulatory approval process with the Prudential Authority, with Bidvest saying all the proceeds of the R2.8 billion sale will be used to repay existing debt. 

This was revealed in Bidvest’s latest annual financial results for the year ended 30 June 2025, where the company posted a solid set of results. 

The company’s revenue grew 5% year-on-year to R126.6 billion, with profit down 5% to R6.4 billion for the year. 

This was despite a strong performance from its business units in the second half of the financial year, driven by its Services South Africa business. 

In Services South Africa, strong inbound leisure travel, increased airport lounge passenger volumes, strong water and coffee sales, and an enhanced landscaping offering. This resulted in trading profit growth of 13.6% off a high recurring revenue base.

Strong growth in this business and Bidvest’s international services business offset a decline in earnings from its freight and commercial products businesses. 

Much of the focus for Bidvest in the past financial year was on the disposal of its Financial Services segment, which was dismantled over the past twelve months and sold in three parts. 

Effective 30 April 2025, Bidvest has sold 100% of the share capital of FinGlobal to Momentum for R201 million. FinGlobal is a cross-border financial services company providing premier financial emigration services to South Africans all over the world.

The sale of Bidvest Life is yet to be concluded, with the company receiving a binding offer of R130 million for the business. 

Bidvest Bank’s sale has proven to be more complicated, given the businesses size and the regulatory scrutiny given towards the ownership of banks in South Africa. 

On 12 December 2024, Access Bank agreed to acquire 100% of the share capital of Bidvest Bankm subject to regulatory approvals for R2.8 billion. 

Access Bank, domiciled in Nigeria, is a full-service commercial bank with over 60 million customers globally. Its network of over 700 branches spans 23 countries and three continents. 

Regulatory approvals are expected within the next three months, Bidvest said, with the Prudential Authority currently busy with the deal.

Access Bank formally entered the South African market in 2020 with its purchase of Grobank for $60 million. 

Crucially, this gave Access Bank a banking licence to operate in South Africa and enabled it to set up operations in the country. 

However, Grobank was a relatively small bank and had a niche focus on the agricultural sector – a far cry from Access Bank’s focus on retail clients. 

When Bidvest Bank was put up for sale by its parent company, Access Bank was presented with a significant opportunity to repeat its expansion-by-acquisition strategy employed in other parts of Africa.

Bidvest Bank largely focused on fleet management, with extensive vehicle and asset financing operations. 

It also benefited immensely from its ability to cross-sell its products within the Bidvest group and not battle against South Africa’s biggest banks for clients and deposits. This is something Access Bank will have to do.