Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa Plc, will raise N239.4 billion through a Rights Issue of 6,839,884,274 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N35.00 per share.
The Rights Issue, which opens Friday, November 15 (today), gives existing shareholders the opportunity to purchase additional shares in proportion to their current holdings and is being offered based on one new ordinary share for every five existing ordinary shares held by shareholders, as of November 5, 2024.
In his letter to the shareholders informing them, the Group Chairman of United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu, noted that following the resolution of the Group’s shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held in May 2024, authorising the establishment of the N400 billion Equity Shelf Programme, UBA will embark on a Rights Issue, as the first step in its broader capital raising programme.
“UBA’s Rights Issue aims to raise N239.4 billion, through the issuance of new Ordinary Shares to our shareholders. The primary objective of this Rights Issue is to further strengthen our capacity to take advantage of growth opportunities and sustain our leadership in the banking industry,” Elumelu said.
Explaining the use of proceeds, the Group Chairman noted that, beyond regulatory compliance, the funds will expand the Group’s lending capacity, investment in digital infrastructure, support sustainable business practices and expand the Group’s African operations.
Elumelu also highlighted how UBA is driving economic growth across Africa.
“Our historic partnership with the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, where UBA pledged up to US$6 billion in financing over the next three years to support eligible SMEs across Africa underscores our commitment to fostering economic development.”
The issuance is in compliance with the revised minimum capital requirements for Nigerian commercial banks announced by the apex banking regulator in Nigeria – the Central Bank of Nigeria earlier this year.
UBA has consistently demonstrated growth and resilience, evidenced by the Group’s strong financial performance and recent recognition within the industry.
UBA’s progressive dividend policy, which has seen an increase by 14.8% annualised dividend yield, has demonstrated the Group’s ability to reward shareholders consistently.
In 2023/2024, UBA won “Bank of the Year” Awards in eight of its subsidiaries – Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Republic of Congo; Sierra Leone; Tanzania, as well as the Regional Award for Africa and in 2024 has won World Best Frontier Markets Bank and Best SME Bank Africa.
Application for the provisional allotment of the Rights to the new ordinary Shares will be made exclusively through the NGX e-offer portal during the offer period, while existing shareholders may also apply for additional shares above their provisional allotment as described in the Provisional Allotment Letter. Shareholders who are customers of the Bank are also encouraged to access their Rights through UBA’s internet banking and mobile banking channels.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than 45 million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.
With a unique international presence in New York, London, Paris and Dubai, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa and globally, through retail, commercial, corporate and institutional banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and related banking services.
NGX ASI declines by 0.19% as investors lose N112.4bn
Meanwhile, equities trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited continued its flip-flop for the week, closing Thursday bearish, reversing the gains posted on Wednesday due to selloffs in CONOIL , BUACEMENT, CUSTODIAN, OANDO, ACCESSCORP, which lost 6.15 percent, 5.93 percent, 4.7 percent, 3.23 percent and 0.20 percent respectively alongside 10 others stocks.
Consequently, the All-Share Index and market capitalisation lost 0.19 percent, with the NGX ASI closing at 97,233.07 points from 97,418.83 points on Wednesday.
Investors lost N112.43 billion as market capitalisation tumbled to N58.92trn, while the year-to-date return declined to 30.04 percent.
The market breadth closed positively at 0.23x, with 32 gainers against 15 losers and 73 unchanged equities. FLOURMILL topped the gainers’ list, while ABBEYBDS topped the losers’ list.
Notably, the price of FLOURMILL, TIP, and SUNUASSUR exceeded their 52-week high of N65.00, N2.50 and N6.39 to close at N71.50, N2.53 and N7.02, respectively, sustaining their positive sentiments. On the flip side, BUACEMENT traded below its 52-week lows.
The total volume traded advanced 18.02 percent to close at 291.53 million, valued at N7.82 billion and traded in 7,931 deals. ACCESSCORP was the most traded stock by volume and value, with 60.36 million units traded, worth 1.50 billion.
ACCESSCORP was the most traded in volume, contributing 20.70 percent, while UBA and ZENITH followed closely with 6.15 percent and 5.56 percent, respectively.
