Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Pan African lender, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) on Thursday announced that Qatar National Bank SAQ (QNB) has acquired 12.5 percent stake in the bank.

ETI in a notice to the Nigerian Stock exchange (NSE) said QNB acquired 1,767,612,630 ordinary shares and 732,277,056 preference shares respectively in the bank.

Industry analyst said the 1,767,612,630 ordinary shares and 732,277,056 preference shares of the pan African lender was transferred to QNB at N20.01 per share amounting to about $200 million.

The 12.5 percent stake QNB acquired in ETI is from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Nigeria’s Asset Management Corporation acquired the stake after the pan African lender merged with liquidated Oceanic Bank International Plc which AMCON bailed out before the merger and acquisition.

‘’The Acquisition is QNB’s first acquisition of shares in the capital of ETI,’’ the pan African lender said.

According to Ecobank, the acquisition of the ordinary shares is expected to complete three (3) days from the date hereof.

While the acquisition of the preference shares is expected to complete shortly thereafter and QNB expects to be a long term holder of the shares in ETI.  

ETI affirmed that the Qatar Investment Authority owns five (5) percent or more of QNB and whose are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange.

At the end of today’s trading session at the Nigerian bourse, shares of ETI gained 39 kobo as it opened N16.62 and closed at 17.01 indicating a an increase of 2.35 percent.