By Abdulwahab Abdulah

A Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja, has stalled the planned acquisition of the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc by a proposed core investor, Messrs African Capital Alliance Consortium, the proposed core investor.

The court restrained the consortium from proceeding with the transaction.

In an interim injunction granted against the consortium, following an ex-parte application  by Union Bank of Nigeria Pensioners Association, who currently holding 1,200,000 units, Justice Steven Adah  ordered the defendant, (Union Bank) to put on hold any transactions on the planned acquisition until the determination of the substantive case before the court.

The move to recapitalise the bank through the core investor, according to the plaintiffs, without following the laid down procedure as stipulated in its Memorandum and Article of Association, necessitated their move to stop the planned acquisition.

The pensioners argued that they were not properly brought into the proceedings and transaction leading to the planned acquisition.

Ruling on the ex-parte application by the pensioners, which was argued by their lawyer, Femi Falana, Justice Adah stopped the acquisition in an interim order granted, yesterday.

Source: Vanguard