Access Holdings acquired an indirect equity stake in Sigma pensions

• Access Holdings acquired an indirect equity stake in Sigma pensions
• France issues an operating license to Access Holdings

The acquisition of an indirect equity position in Sigma Pension by Access Holdings Plc (doing business as Access Corporation) is now complete.

According to a corporate filing obtained by Nairametrics, Access Holdings has integrated its FGPL with Sigma Pension after the acquisition.

The change came after the federal high court approved the merger plan between Sigma and FGPL on December 1st, 2022. On that basis, Sigma is now the surviving entity after FGPL was dissolved without winding up.

Synergies between the organizations will be employed to forge a powerful pension funds administration, according to Dr. Herbert Wigwe, Group Chief Executive of Access Corporation. He said,

“Following the successful completion of the merger, our plan is to leverage the synergies of these entities as well as the corporation’s expansive distribution network, strong risk management culture, and best-in-class governance standards to create a formidable pension funds administration business.”

The proposed acquisition of all of the issued shares of Actis Golf Nigeria Limited (AGNL), the owner of Sigma Pension, by First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL) and First Ally Asset Management Limited was approved by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).

Subject to securing all necessary regulatory clearances, the holding company plans to combine the operations of FGPL and Sigma to form Nigeria’s fourth-largest Pension Fund Administrator by assets under management.

France issues an operating license to Access Holdings

According to Mr. Herbert Wigwe, group managing director of Access Holdings Plc, the company last week received approval for a license to start operating in France.

Wigwe, who made this statement at a Statutory Meeting of Access Holdings’ shareholders in Lagos, also mentioned that the holding company is planning to develop a new firm named Hydrogen in an effort to establish Africa as the continent’s international entry point.

He said that with the opening of the subsidiary, Access Holdings would be promoting trade inside Africa and that Hydrogen, in collaboration with some DFIs, would be in charge of handling payments throughout the continent.

“We share the fact with you that we wanted to be known as Africa’s gateway to the world and what that meant was that we are going to be responsible for payments across the entire continent, irrespective of where you are and where you’re transferring money from. We are going to support intra-African trade, which is a big problem today.”

“The bank cannot do this alone because these are very specialist skills and it will allow us to be able to ensure that there are settlements even in countries where we don’t have a physical presence. The idea is that wherever you are in the world if you’re making a transfer to anybody across the continent, one out of every three transactions that come into the continent will be settled on Access Bank’s platform,” Wigwe said.

Continue Reading: France issues an operating license to Access Holdings

Source: nairametrics.com