...To get all news updates, Join our WhatsApp Group (Click Here)
Also Join our WhatsApp Channel (Click Here)
Guaranty Trust Holding Co., the parent company of Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value, will list in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) after raising $100 million in a share sale, it said in a regulatory filing.
GTCO is selling shares to institutional and qualified investors as part of an ongoing effort to recapitalize its main subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. That’s in line with a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requirement that all lenders with international banking licenses raise their equity capital to a minimum of N500 billion or $327 million by March 2026.
Some of Nigeria’s largest lenders including GTCO and Access Holdings Plc are expanding within Africa and elsewhere to diversify away from their home market and boost overseas income after a currency crisis resulted in the naira losing more than 70per cent of its value in two years. The share sale in London will help GTCO lure new investors and make it easier for the bank to raise funds in the future, the company said.
The listing in London represents a “pivotal moment in GTCO’s growth, reinforcing our position as a forward-thinking African financial services institution,” Chief Executive Officer Segun Agbaje said in a statement.
The holding company, which is already listed on the Lagos-based Nigerian Stock Exchange, will be the first lender from the West African nation to list on the LSE, bringing to three the number of Nigerian firms trading in London.
GTBank in 2007 raised $750 million by selling global depository receipts, which the company will now cancel and de-list, according to the statement. GDR holders can exchange their securities into shares for trading either in London or Lagos, the company said.
The bank had previously sought shareholder approval to raise $750 million through an offering of ordinary or preference shares, convertible and non-convertible notes, bonds or any other instruments. In January, it announced the completion of a N209 billion- or $136.6 million capital raise, which it said was the first phase of a funding exercise.
After recapitalizing GTBank with the proceeds from the offer, GTCO plans to deploy the extra funds for growth and expansion through acquisitions in the pension-fund administration and asset-management industries over the next two years, it said last year.
You can get every of our news as soon as they drop on WhatsApp ...To get all news updates, Join our WhatsApp Group (Click Here)
Also Join our WhatsApp Channel (Click Here)
