Titan Trust Bank has debunked the allegation of illegally acquiring Union Bank.
A report by a special investigator had alleged that former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor Godwin Emefiele, used proxies to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria.
The report also indicted a late ally of former President Buhari, Ismaila Isa Funtua, in the acquisitions of Keystone and Polaris banks.
These bank purchases occurred over time and were detailed in a memo submitted to Tinubu on December 20, 2023.
The memo, titled “Report of the Investigation of the Acquisition of Union Bank of Nigeria by Titan Trust Bank,” outlines the specific steps allegedly taken to secure Union Bank.
But the Titan Trust Bank in a statement reacting to the investigation, said the acquisition was transparent and legal.
The statement detailed the acquisition process involving reputable firms such as PwC and Norton Rose Fulbright, as well as regulatory approvals reportedly obtained from the Central Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission, among others.
It reads, “On December 18, 2021 Titan Trust Bank Limited (on the buy side) signed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Atlas Mara Limited, Union Global Partners Limited, Emeka Emuwa, Standard Chartered Bank, Montane Partners West Africa Limited, TLG Africa Growth Impact Fund, and Sanlam Life Assurance Limited on the sale side (otherwise referred as the bulk shareholders).
“The bulk shareholders together owned 93.41% of Union Bank’s issued share capital. The SPA was a product of a long and tortious due diligence process which involved leading financial and technical advisers.
“Titan Trust Bank engaged reputable firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited (or PWC) for the financial due diligence, Drey Law Practice (DLP) for the legal due diligence, Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) UK as legal Advisers and Citibank London as financial/Transaction Advisers. The Bulk shareholders engaged a prominent UK Law firm of White & Case as their Legal advisers on the transaction.”
