Access Holdings Plc (NGX: ACCESSCORP) is seeking to establish a capital raising programme of up to US$1.50bn (₦1.963 trillion based on N1309/$ official rate as at Thursday) or its equivalent.
Also read; List of Dividends announced in 2024, qualification and payment dates
If authorised by the shareholders, the Board of Directors will seek to raise the capital through the issuance of ordinary shares, preference shares, Alternative Tier 1, convertible and/or non-convertible notes, bonds or any other instruments.
The capital raise raise is amongst the resolutions that will be put to shareholders at the company’s 2nd Annual General Meeting. The meeting will hold at Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos on Friday, April 19, 2024 at 10.00 a.m.
ACCESSCORP’s capital raise is coming just as the Central of Nigeria announced a new minimum capital requirement of ₦500 billion for commercial banks with national authorization.
For existing banks like Access Bank Plc, a subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc, the minimum capital specified above shall comprise paid-up capital and share premium only. But some analysts faulted the exclusion of retained earnings from the regulatory capital composition.
The 2023 financial statements of Access Holdings Plc shows that Access Bank Plc has a minimum share capital of ₦50 billion.
At the AGM, Shareholders will also be asked to consider and if thought fit approve a resolution that “the Company be and is hereby authorised to raise capital of up to N365,000,000,000.00 (Three hundred and Sixty-Five Billion Naira) by way of a rights issue on such terms and conditions and on such dates as may be determined by the Directors, subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.”
Furthermore, shareholders will also be asked to consider and if thought fit approve “that any shares not taken by existing shareholders within the period stipulated under the Rights Issue may be offered for sale to other interested shareholders of the Company on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Directors subject to the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.”
Shareholders will also consider and if thought fit amend a clause in the Company’s Memorandum of Association and the Share Capital Article to increase the company’s total issued shares to 53,317,838,433.
That Clause 6 of the Company’s Memorandum of Association and the Share Capital Article in the Company’s Articles of Association be and are hereby amended to refect the new share capital of N26,658,919,216.50 (Twenty-Six Billion, Six Hundred and Fifty-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Two Hundred and Sixteen Naira, Fifty Kobo Only) by the creation and addition of up 17,772,612,811 (Seventeen Billion, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Two Million, Six Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Eight Hundred and Eleven) ordinary shares of N0.50 Kobo each ranking pari-passu with the existing ordinary shares of the Company bringing the total issued shares of the Company to 53,317,838,433 (Fifty-Three Billion, Three Hundred and Seventeen Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty-Eight Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-Three) ordinary shares of N0.50 Kobo each.
At the time of filing this report, Access Holdings Plc has 35,545,225,622 outstanding shares and a market capitalisation of ₦870.85 billion.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
