Fidelity Bank Plc has sold additional shares to two investors in a special private placement valued at about N14 billion.
Fidelity Bank at the weekend announced the successful completion of its private placement of 3.037 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4.60 per share. Two applications were received and were fully allotted for the private placement.
Regulatory filing indicated that a strategic investor purchased 2.75 billion shares at N4.60 per share in a deal valued at N12.65 billion. This represents about 8.594 per cent in the post-offer share capital.
Another investor acquired 287.41 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4.60 in a deal valued at N1.322 billion, representing about 0.897 per cent of the enlarged post-issuance share capital.
Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has cleared the full allotment of the private placement and the issued shares are expected to be credited to the investment accounts of the investors not later than Friday, May 5, 2023.
Fidelity Bank had adopted the private placement option as a way to comply with provisions of Section 124 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 and the Companies Regulations 2021, and pursuant to Paragraphs 9 and 10 of the Articles of Association of the company. Recent changes in corporate laws disallow keeping subsisting unissued shares, leaving companies with the option of cancelling current unissued authorised share capital or issuing out such shares.
Shareholders had at an extraordinary general meeting in October 2022 in Lagos approved the private placement, waiving their pre-emptive rights to the unissued shares to be allocated to select private investors and approved that such issued shares to private investors shall rank in all respect equally with the existing ordinary shares of the bank.
Chairman, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, had explained that the private placement served dual purpose of complying with the new legal requirement and beefing up the bank’s shareholders’ funds.
According to him, the additional capital from the private placement would support the bank’s growth in line with its corporate objectives.
Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said the bank was growing in leaps and bounds and needed to expand its capital base to take advantage of emerging opportunities.
“We will also use the additional capital to enhance our technology infrastructure to enable us to serve more customers,” Onyeali-Ikpe said.
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