Access, Diamond Bank share prices jump after ‘acquisition’

Diamond Bank share price is on the rise, following the conclusive acquisition by Access Bank PLC.

On Sunday, TheCable reported the acquisition by Access Bank, as midwifed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to consolidate the banking sector in the country.

At the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, investors seem to be voting their monies into Diamond Bank, following the expectations of the announcement of the acquisition by the banks involved and the regulator.

The bank’s share price, which hit an all-year low of 0.61 kobo per unit on November 30, closed at 0.95kobo on Friday, and is currently trading N1.04 as at 11am on Monday morning.

Access Bank also recorded a significant rise in share price on Monday, trading at 7.80 per unit — 0.35kobo more than its closing position on Friday.

As publicly listed companies, there is a need for the banks to inform shareholders via the Nigerians Stock Exchange — a move sources say will be concluded this week.

For now, both companies are trading separately at the Nigerian bourse.

Both banks closed at the exchange at about nine percent higher than previous week’s close.