By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
Access Holdings Plc has announced plans to commence a capital-raising programme of up to $1.5 billion through share sale or bond offering.
The lender also intends to raise up to N365 billion through rights issue of ordinary shares, it said in a statement today.
The development comes less than 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a compulsory N500 billion capital raise for commercial banks operating in the country, ahead of the two years deadline given.
Access Holdings said proceeds from the proposed rights issue would be used to support ongoing working capital needs, including organic growth funding for its banking and other non-banking subsidiaries.
“The Programme aims to enhance the Group’s financial strength through the issuance of various financial instruments such as ordinary shares, preference shares, Alternative Tier 1 capital, convertible and/or non-convertible debt, bonds, or other capital and/or funding instruments.
“The Programme may be executed through a variety of methods including public offerings, private placements, rights issues, book building processes, or a combination thereof.
“The specifics regarding the tranches, series, proportions, dates, pricing, tenor, and other terms and conditions that may be associated, will be determined by the Board of Directors, contingent upon securing the necessary regulatory approvals.”
It added that the plans for the programme were disclosed in the Group’s Notice of the second Annual General Meeting holding on April 19, which was published on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) portal on March 27.
The Programme may be executed through a variety of methods including public offerings, private placements, rights issues, book building processes, or a combination thereof.
