Grace Ashiru
Access Holdings Plc, the parent company of Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, has extended the deadline for its ₦351 billion ($233 million) capital raise, attributing the change to the recent nationwide protests.
In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, the lender announced that it had pushed the deadline for its public offer from August 14 to August 23, following approval from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
This extension is intended to “provide shareholders with ample opportunity to subscribe to their rights.” Access Holdings is offering 17.7 billion new ordinary shares at ₦19.75 each, with the raised capital earmarked to support the bank’s global ambitions.
During the prolonged period of the Issue, the Company’s insiders will remain strictly restricted in their dealings with the Company’s shares, limited only to participation in the Rights Issue as previously approved by the Exchange. This restriction will persist throughout the Non-Dealing Period concerning the Company’s Audited Interim Financial Statements for the Period Ended June 30, 2024, and will continue until 24 hours after the publication of the Interim Financial Statements,” the statement noted.
The extension was announced just 24 hours after Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s largest bank by market capitalization, launched a combined offer to raise ₦290 billion ($182 million) in response to new capital requirements set by Nigeria’s Central Bank. Fidelity Bank, a tier-2 commercial bank, and GTCO, a Nigerian financial services group with a market value of ₦1.39 trillion, concluded their public offers on August 12.
On July 9, Access Holdings informed its shareholders and regulators of its ambitious goal to “become the world’s first truly African global brand in the financial sector.” Over the past two decades, Access Holdings has rapidly expanded from a mid-sized lender into one of the largest banks on the continent, driven by strategic acquisitions. The bank now has a presence in 18 countries.
The company plans to allocate 65% of the capital raised to expand its loan portfolio, dedicate 20% to enhancing its infrastructure, and use the remaining 20% to establish new branches across the nation.
