Access Bank had
in September applied to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to suspend its
shares for a week arguing that information on its capital raising was
not publicly available and that it wanted to avoid speculation in its
shares. But the SEC had five years ago issued a directive that no listed
company should have its share price frozen for reasons of fund raising,
fellow lenders Diamond Bank and Unity Bank, who recently held rights
issue, had their shares trading while they were raising funds.Although
the SEC said in a statement that it was aware of the prize freeze on
Access shares, it added that it is “investigating the circumstances
surrounding the action of the NSE in imposing the technical suspension
on Access Bank Plc shares as no such suspension was placed on the shares
of other listed companies who undertook capital raising recently”.
The share freeze, which the SEC says
it directed the NSE to lift on September 23, has been described by
market analysts as a process that was exploited by market participants
in the past and should not be allowed to make its way back into the
capital market. They also said say it runs against the rights of
shareholders to subscribe for their rights issue and sell their stocks
(existing and rights) as they deem fit.
Access Bank earlier this week said it had filed for regulatory approval to raise fresh capital after its shareholders backed the plan. Reuters reports that shares in the bank closed at N8.35 each on Thursday, more than 11 percent below the pre-suspension price.
Access Bank earlier this week said it had filed for regulatory approval to raise fresh capital after its shareholders backed the plan. Reuters reports that shares in the bank closed at N8.35 each on Thursday, more than 11 percent below the pre-suspension price.
No comments:
Post a Comment