FRI, JULY 05 2019-theG&BJournal- The Nigerian Stock Exchange (The Exchange or NSE) today announced that the planned Cross Border Secondary Listing of 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares of Airtel Africa Plc. (Company) has been postponed from the scheduled date of Friday, July 5, 2019.
The announcement surprised many market watchers but welcome the development as a reflection of the NSE quest for the enthronement of proper corporate governance principles for companies listed on the exchange and part of its checks and balances on companies listed on the bourse.
‘’Oscar Onyeama (NSE boss) and his team are trying to entrench good corporate governance and I think that is what this is all about’’ says Arize Nwobu, a chartered stock broker in Lagos.
Breach of post listing requirements has been one of the reasons for delisting many companies from the Exchange.
The NSE said the postponement was necessitated by the need to ensure that the Company meets all the post NSE approval pre-requisites for listing on the NSE.
The NSE say they will provide further communication on this issue when all the conditions for the listing in its market have been met.
Airtel Africa shares were listed at an offer price of 80 pence per ordinary share on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and is expected to be listed at 363 Naira per ordinary share on the Main Board of The Nigerian Stock Exchange, making Airtel Africa the first telecom company to simultaneously list on both Exchanges.
A leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with presence in 14 countries spread across East, Central and West Africa (including Nigeria), Airtel Africa has a total market capitalization of N25.20Tn across various asset classes.
‘’I congratulate the Board and Management of Airtel Africa on its successful global capital raise of $750m via Initial Public Offering (IPO) by way of book building and its secondary listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange,’’ Oscar N. Onyema, OON said at the Fact Behind the Listing at the Stock Exchange building today.
‘’ This listing is a promising development in Africa with Airtel Africa being the second company to have its ordinary shares listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This gives credence to the successful partnership between the two exchanges and we encourage similarly situated companies to explore the different opportunities for raising capital on the Exchange’s platform.’’
The listing will add N1.36Tn to the market capitalization of The Exchange, further deepening the Nigerian Capital Market. It will also increase the visibility of Airtel Africa whilst differentiating its brand as a major player in the Telecommunication sector.
Onyema told stakeholders and shareholders at the Fact Behind the Listing that the NSE will continue to support the Telecom Industry and the real sector by promoting efficient capital formation and allocation, enabling industries to raise long-term funds for growth & expansion of their business to reduce unemployment and sustain Nigeria’s economic growth and development.
He also acknowledged ‘’the professional parties to the transaction particularly the Nigerian Joint issuing houses- Barclays Securities Nigeria Limited and Quantum Zenith Capital & Investments Limited, the brokers to the offer -Barclays Stockbrokers Nigeria Limited; Quantum Zenith Securities & Investments Limited and Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited who is also the Market Maker for the security.’’
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