Economy
Ellah Lakes Plans N235bn Public Offer for Expansion, Strategic Acquisition
By Adedapo Adesanya
Ellah Lakes Plc has announced plans to launch a public offer as part of its broader capital-raising strategy, following a signing ceremony held on November 5, 2025.
During a press briefing, the company highlighted its strategic repositioning efforts, operational progress, and long-term growth objectives within Nigeria’s agro-industrial value chain.
The company disclosed that it would undertake a N235 billion capital raise in 2025, with proceeds targeted at acquiring a significant agricultural asset.
The acquisition is expected to expand Ellah Lakes’ production capacity, diversify revenue streams, and support its transition from a restructuring phase to a full-scale growth and expansion cycle.
The company’s leadership highlighted Ellah Lakes’ distinctive, multi-dimensional positioning strategy across Nigeria’s agricultural landscape. With over 30,000 hectares of land assets spanning Enugu, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States, the company is geographically diversified, capturing varied climatic advantages essential for its multi-crop operations.
Speaking on the plan, the chief executive of Ellah Lakes, Mr Chuka Mordi, stated, “This N235 billion capital raise is a definitive statement of intent. It is our commitment to our shareholders to deliver economies of scale, market resilience, and long-term value creation. We are confident that by deploying this capital effectively and executing our clear strategy, Ellah Lakes will solidify its position as the undisputed leading indigenous agro-industrial giant in West Africa.”
A key focus of the listing of the additional shares is the company’s successful execution of its vertical integration strategy. The commissioning of its 6-ton-per-hour Crude Palm Oil (CPO) mill is a strategic move designed to build a more robust and scalable revenue model less vulnerable to external supply chain disruptions.
Furthermore, Ellah Lakes said it has bolstered its resilience through diversified revenue streams, combining long-term oil palm investments with medium-term cassava cultivation and more immediate revenue from its piggery operations.
Ellah Lakes, as a company, carries out carefully sequenced capital raises and targeted mergers & acquisitions (M&A) that have progressively rebuilt and strengthened its agro-industrial platform. This includes the pivotal 2019 reverse acquisition by Telluria Limited, which integrated valuable oil palm assets and expertise, laying the foundation for vertical integration, as well as its recent announcement of the acquisition of a 100 per cent shareholding in Agro-Allied Resources & Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN).
The acquired assets included 11,783 hectares of cultivated land, 2093 hectares of cassava plantations, and an additional 10,393 hectares of uncultivated land.
Speaking on the ARPN acquisition, Mr Paul Farrer, Deputy Managing Director of Ellah Lakes Plc, said: “This acquisition marked a pivotal moment for Ellah Lakes as we strengthen our foothold in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector. Agro-Allied Resources & Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN) brings a robust land bank and operational assets that align perfectly with our vision of vertical integration and sustainable growth.
“The ARPN acquisition will deliver immediate scale and financial benefits, achieving in months what would have taken years organically, while unlocking significant long-term potential for crop diversification & vertical integration. This will deliver value to all stakeholders as it delivers operational and financial scale immediately”
Also, prudent subsequent financing, such as the 2023 N2.9 billion rights issue and the late 2024 debt-to-equity conversion, has strengthened the balance sheet and provided the necessary liquidity to secure the 30,000+ hectares and commission the CPO mill.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was exchanged at N1,400.28 per Dollar in the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, January 28 after it gained 74 or 0.05 per cent against the United States Dollar, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In the preceding trading session, the value of the local currency stood at N1,401.22/$1.
However, the domestic currency further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N4.15 to end at N1,929.99/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing price of N1,925.84/£1 and against the Euro, it lost N3.31 to settle at N1,675.53/€1, in contrast to the preceding session’s closing price of N1,672.22/€1.
At the black market window, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the Dollar at N1,480/$1 at midweek, same at the GTBank forex desk, where it closed flat at N1,426/$1.
The Naira has sustained its upward momentum into early 2026, building on the gains recorded in 2025, when it posted its strongest performance in over a decade. Recent reforms in the FX market as well as structural reforms in the oil sector have eased fears and buoyed investments.
This has boosted foreign capital inflows and led to stronger diaspora remittances, keeping the exchange rate at the N1,400 mark in the medium term.
Also boosting the value of the Naira is a general weakening of the greenback in the international market as a result of geographical tensions and risk associated with US policies.
As for the cryptocurrency market, continued strength in commodities, especially record-high gold and elevated silver and copper, have overshadowed crypto markets. A weaker Dollar fueled strong rallies in these commodities, making them safer havens than crypto.
Also, the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its meeting on Wednesday.
Solana (SOL) shrank by 2.9 per cent to $123.15, Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 2.6 per cent to $0.1217, Litecoin (LTC) slid by 2.4 per cent to $68.10, Ripple (XRP) fell by 2.1 per cent to $1.87, Cardano (ADA) depleted by 1.9 per cent to $0.3506, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.8 per cent to $2,951.30, Bitcoin (BTC) dipped by 1.1 per cent to $88,118.29, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 0.1 per cent to $889.03, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange tasted another defeat on Wednesday after it closed lower by 0.33 per cent due to profit-taking, especially in MTN Nigeria, Oando, UBA, and others.
The selling pressure was triggered by the desire of investors to recaliberate their portfolios and this saw 38 shares end in the red territory as only 32 shares finished in the green side, implying a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
According to data from Customs Street, RT Briscoe suffered the heaviest lost after it shed 9.97 per cent to trade at N6.50, May and Baker depreciated by 9.96 per cent to N35.25, Ikeja Hotel slumped by 9.92 per cent to N32.25, Living Trust Mortgage Bank lost 9.90 per cent to settle at N4.64, and eTranzact dipped by 9.16 per cent to N17.35.
At the other side of the coin, Union Homes REIT was the biggest price gainer after it improved its value by 9.97 per cent to N94.85, Deap Capital grew by 9.97 per cent to N9.49, Tantalizers appreciated by 9.92 per cent to N3.88, and SAHCO advanced by 9.91 per cent to N128.60.
Leading the activity chart yesterday was Neimeth, which traded 58.1 million equities for N590.6 million, Chams sold 39.4 million stocks worth N190.6 million, Access Holdings exchanged 33.4 million shares valued at N757.5 million, Zenith Bank transacted 32.4 million equities worth N2.3 billion, and Tantalizers recorded a turnover of 29.2 million shares valued at N109.8 million.
At the close of transactions, 631.2 million stocks exchanged hands for N16.5 billion in 42,172 deals at midweek compared with the 483.1 million stocks worth N17.4 billion recorded in 41,499 deals a day earlier, showing a fall in the trading value by 5.17 per cent, and an increase in the trading volume and number of deals by 30.66 per cent and 1.62 per cent apiece.
As for the key performance indices, they were down, with the All-Share Index (ASI) losing 549.44 points to settle at 165,164.38 points compared with the preceding say’s 165,713.82 points and the market capitalisation giving up N352 billion to end at N105.737 trillion versus Tuesday’s N106.089 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Brent crude grade gained 1.23 per cent or 83 cents to trade at $68.40 per barrel on Wednesday amid looming Iran concerns, supported by a weak US Dollar.
In the same vein, the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 82 cents or 1.31 per cent to trade at $63.21 per barrel.
US President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next US attack would be far worse, but Tehran said that if that happened it would fight back as never before.
“A massive Armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose,” President Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday.
US Central Command said Monday that the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group had arrived in the Middle East “to promote regional security and stability.”
The American President had threatened to attack Iran if it killed protestors during a mass uprising earlier this month. Thousands of people died after the Islamic Republic cracked down on the unrest. But the U.S. president has held back from military intervention so far.
He also warned Iran that a possible attack would be worse than the bombing campaign he ordered last June on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
A weak US Dollar kept the prices elevated as it neared four-year lows against a basket of other currencies, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.
Meanwhile, in its first monetary policy decision of 2026, the Federal Reserve elected to hold the federal funds rate steady at 3.50 per cent–3.75 per cent, pausing further cuts after three reductions late last year.
The decision, made at the January 27–28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, reflects a cautious stance amid mixed economic signals and persistent inflation above target.
The FOMC statement shows that while economic activity “has been expanding at a solid moderate pace,” job gains have slowed and the unemployment rate has only “shown some signs of stabilization,” leading policymakers to resist further easing for now.
Negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the US are set to resume in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 1.
Crude oil inventories in the US decreased by 2.3 million barrels during the week ending January 24, according to new data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The EIA’s data release follows figures by the American Petroleum Institute (API) that were released a day earlier, which suggested that crude oil inventories fell by 247,000 barrels.
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