By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Nigeria’s tier one lender, Access Bank Plc has listed an additional 6,045,052,723 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each on the Daily Official List (DOL) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as it plans to raise additional capital.
This is on the basis of one new ordinary share for every three ordinary shares held (right issue) were added to the existing shares of the bank. “By this action, the total outstanding shares of the Access Bank Plc now stood at 28,927,971,631 units,” the lender said in a filing with the NSE.
Access Bank in late January this year opened a rights issue to existing shareholders and offered 7.63 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a ratio of one new share for every three held at N6.90 per share.
The Nigeria’s tier one lender, recently announced it raised N41.71 billion out of its proposed N52.6 billion which was 79.32 percent subscribed by shareholders in an issue meant for expansion of branches boosting infrastructure and lending.
“Now to talk specifically, the money that would be raised will be used for the bank’s expansion. Some will be used as working capital and then in keeping with our international bank and African strategy, we will also continue to expand,” Obinna Nwosu group deputy managing director (GDMD) of the bank in September last year told journalists.
Also, Access Bank last Wednesday said it plans to raise additional capital in the future, Roosevelt Ogbonna, executive director, Commercial Banking of the bank disclosed this at a media briefing in Lagos at the Bank’s head office.
He said the fresh funds would be raised via a local currency instrument; but declined to provide further details, according to him details would be provided in the future.
“It will be an interesting instrument. Because of its nature, it will be very attractive for investors because it will be the first of its kind,” Ogbonna added.
Shares of Access Bank at the close of trading on the Nigerian bourse last Friday August 28 increased 4.94 percent opening at N4.45 and closed N4.67 per share; gaining 0.22 kobo per share.
