Access Holdings Goes To The Stock Market With N351 Billion Rights Issue To Strengthen It’s Financial Base
By Emmanuel Uffot
Access Holdings, one of the strong players in the financial industry in Nigeria has joined the number of grade A commercial banks to shore up their capital base to meet up with the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N500 billion capital base requirement.
The Group is offering 17,772,612,811 billion Rights Issue at N19.75 per share on the basis of one ordinary share for every two shares held as at June 7, 2024.
The Access Holdings Group presented the offer at the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) during ‘ The Facts behind the rights issue’s to stock brokers.
Commenting on the offer, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer Roosevelt Ogbonna said the rights issue, signifies the Group’s commitment to becoming a global banking leader with emphasy on its expansive growth and robust financial performance.
” We are positioning ourselves to be one of the most respected banks globally.
” Our focus is on superior service across all the continent and countries we are operational”.
She added that the aim is to be one of the top five African banks by 2027.
On the global perspective, the bank says the intention is to generate up to US1.5 billion to position it’s UK subsidiary Access Bank UK among the top 20 banks in the United Kingdom.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Group Aigboje Aig- Imokhuede who is also excited about the offer, however explained the reason why the offered price is higher than the existing price at the exchange.
Attributing it to high earnings of the Group over the years, he maintained that the rights issue is significant, as it aims to reward long- term investors who have supported the bank through difficult times given the future profits envisage by the Access Holdings Group.
The offer which opened on July 8 with stock brokers, NGX management and that of Access Holdings present will close on August 11, 2024.
Access Holdings Group which is still recovering from the dead of its founding CEO Herbert Wigwe in an helicopter crash in USA months ago, has carved a niche for itself through landmark merger and acquisitions over the years.
It could be recalled that the bank acquired Intercontinental bank over a decade ago in what baffle industry players given the status of the said bank then as a very big and strong player in the industry.
It again later went into another merger and acquisition of Diamond Bank, in its ambitious acquisition drive
