The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has denied claims making the round in some quarters that a higher offer was made during the sale of Polaris Bank, saying that the divestment followed due process and best practice.
In October last year, CBN announced the sale of Polaris Bank to Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL) with a total sales consideration of N1.355 trillion.
Media Talk Africa reports that in a statement signed on Wednesday by CBN’s director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, the apex bank stated that one of the bidders, Fairview Acquisition Partner, made an offer of N1.2 trillion, which significantly discounted the existing N1.305 trillion worth Polaris Bank’s indebtedness to the federal government which meant a material loss to the government, hence it did not accept the offer.
But, CBN accepted the offer of SCIL because it was more profitable for the country.
“SCIL’s offer was the most competitive and provided taxpayers and the Federal Government with more than full recovery of its intervention cost. By the sale, the CBN and the Nation achieved a successful, value-driven resolution of a strategic financial institution,” it said.
