Mr Cornelis Vink, the Nigerian/Dutch billionaire business man who owns TGI group and is owner of a new generation bank,Titan Bank, a subsidiary of his TGI group, on Monday this week paid the total sum of 191 billion naira for the total acquisition of Union Bank.
The deal which was concluded on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange on Monday with the purchase of 27.34 million units of Union Bank shares at N7.00 each in an off-market transaction. The share price of Union Bank closed flat today at N6.25. Recall that in December 2021, it was reported that the two-year lender Titan Trust Bank was planning to buy an 89.39 per cent stake in the 104-year-old bank. With the complete payment of the Union Bank shares, Mr. Cornelius G. Vink (MFR) is now the majority owner of Union Bank through his Titan Trust bank.
Mr. Cornelius G. Vink, a Dutch Nigerian, is not known to many Nigerians as he is known among the business elites as the silent billionaire and operator who makes audacious moves silently. Mr. Cornelius G. Vink (MFR) arrived in Lagos, Nigeria from his country, the Netherlands, in the 70’s.
He later incorporated his company, TGI Group, in 1980, and their first product was the importation of Caparison juice into Nigeria in 1982, which was a big hit.
Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group has grown over the years into a global conglomerate with a majority of its investments based in emerging markets.
Mr. Cornelis G. Vink later founded CHI Limited, makers of the popular Chivita products. TGI eventually sold the company to Coca-Cola in 2019 for $1 billion. He also owns WACOT Rice Mill located in Kebbi State, which is said to be the largest parboiled rice mill in Africa while CORMART, another of his group chain is one of the foremost & largest manufacturers of styrene-acrylic in Nigeria—a key raw material for the paint industry. CHI Farmsis one of the largest suppliers of “day-old chicks” in Nigeria.
CHI Pharmaceuticals is the youngest pharmaceutical company in West Africa to obtain the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification in and FLUDOR Benin has the largest cashew processing plant in the Republic of Benin, employing over 1000 women, who make up 85% of the entire workforce.Titan Trust Bank was established just three years ago by TGI Group, which owns over 85% of the bank.
The 191 billion naira acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Trust Bank, Mr. Cornelis G. Vink, who owns the bank, has now become a major player in the banking industry and the Nigerian financial sector.
– Bello Akinkunmi Yakub
