Republic Bank Submits Offer Statement To HFC

Republic Bank Limited (RBL) on Tuesday submitted its Offeror statement to the HFC Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) detailing its offer to all shareholders of HFC Bank. This is in line with the requirements of the SEC Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the Takeover Code) and follows the Bank of Ghana�s approval for RBL to make a mandatory offer to shareholders and RBLs announcement of April 16, 2014. This was contained in a statement issued in Accra by the Republic Bank Limited and signed by Michelle Palmer-Keizer, General Manager of Group Marketing and Communications at the Republic Bank Limited. The statement said the share price offered by RBL had been increased from its initial indicative offer of GH� 1.30 to GH� 1.60 per share. The revised offer is at a premium of 65 per cent over the mandatory price and 28 per cent above the current trading price. As part of the statement, RBL Auditors, Ernst and Young, has provided confirmation that available resources of the bank are sufficient to satisfy full acceptance of the offer. According to the statement, the offer is subject at all times to the provisions of the Takeover Code and the Listing Rules of the Ghana Stock Exchange. The Bank continues to follow the process as detailed by the SEC; which includes a requirement that HFC Bank advice receipt of the Offerors Statement to the SEC within 24 hours. It remains committed to adding value to HFC Bank including the provision of opportunities; the continued professional development of staff, growth and expansion of the product and service offerings and the total operations of HFC Bank, the statement added. Republic Bank Limited is one of the largest and most successful independent commercial banks in the English-speaking Caribbean. Republic Bank has served retail-banking customers, corporate clients and governments throughout the region for 176 years. Today, the Republic Bank Group has a staff complement across the Caribbean region of 4,098 people. Republic Bank Limited has considerable experience in retail banking, particularly in the area of mortgages and credit cards. It also has extensive knowledge of financing in the oil and gas sectors in Trinidad and Tobago. As at September 2013, the assets of Republic Bank Limited stood at US $9.1 billion, with equity at US$ 1.3 billion and profits attributable to shareholders for the year ended September 2013 of US$ 182.2 million Republic Bank is listed on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange with subsidiaries in Trinidad, Guyana, Barbados and Grenada, as well as in other Caribbean Countries. Republic Bank's support of its Caribbean subsidiaries has resulted in all cases in market share growth and increased profitability.