Access unveils plan raise $1.5bn to meet new capital base
In less than 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigerial, CBN, announced a new capital base requirement for commercial banks in the country, Access Holdings Plc, parent company and Access Bank, has unveiled plans to raise up to $1.5 billion.
In response to the latest regulatory needs, the company said its plan is to raise $1.5 billion from the capital market via a share sale or bond offering.
The company, in a statement on Friday, added that it will raise N365 billion from the existing shareholders via a rights issue of ordinary shares.
The statement read partly:
“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.”
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The Holdings said drawing from the programme, the Group expects to raise up to N365 billion specifically via a rights issue of ordinary shares, saying that the proceeds of 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.
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, 2024 which was published on the Nigerian Exchange portal on March 27, 2024.
