Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has acquired the pension and funds management arms of Investment One, a financial service group.
This was disclosed in the group’s filing with the regulatory agencies and a press release issued yesterday and signed by Erhi Obebeduo on behalf of the bank yesterday.
The statement said the GTCO has acquired 100 per cent equity in the two sister companies previously owned and managed by Investment One.
The acquisition extends the bank’s aggressive expansion into non-banking operations. It comes a few months into its new operating model as a holding company.
The lender, which prides itself as a pacesetter and most innovative in the industry, has grown its banking operation organically since its inception.
Commenting on the completion of the acquisition, Group Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Segun Agbaje, was quoted as saying: “We are excited about our foray into the wealth management space, as it provides us with the opportunity of becoming a one-stop-shop for financial services and products that will empower our customers through the course of their lives.
“We will focus on replicating our digital-first customer-centric retail strategy to create distribution channels for wealth solutions that we will offer, to both institutional and retail clients.
“As a dominant leader in financial services, we are positioned to add significant value to the asset management business in Nigeria and compete favourably with the largest global wealth managers in the areas of disclosure, corporate governance and regulatory compliance”.
Agbaje had previously described the restructuring as the beginning of a new dawn and promised to continue to pursue smart and technology-driven growth to remain a leader of the industry.
The new subsidiary will provide GTCO Plc with the platform to provide technology-driven funds and investment management services to meet the unique needs of retail and corporate investors, the statement added.
The bank informed the public that all regulatory approvals have been obtained to acquire the assets and commencement full operation of the subsidiaries.
