Ibile Holdings Raises LASACO Stake to 51% After Rights Issue

By Adedapo Adesanya

Ibile Holdings Limited, the Lagos State Government’s investment vehicle, has increased its stake in LASACO Assurance Plc to 51 per cent following the insurer’s 2026 rights issue.

In its nine-month financial statements, Ibile Holdings’ stake rose from 45.93 per cent as of December 2025 to 51 per cent as of September 30, 2026.

The increase followed the issuance of 9.24 billion new shares, which expanded LASACO’s total issued shares from 11.08 billion to 20.32 billion during the period.

The rights issue offered shareholders five new shares for every six held at N2 per share, raising about N18.47bn to strengthen the insurer’s capital base and support its expansion plans.

Canon Properties and Investments Limited, LASACO’s second-largest shareholder, also increased its stake from 24.66 per cent to 36.21 per cent.

Consequently, the combined holdings of Ibile Holdings and Canon Properties rose to 87.21 per cent of LASACO’s enlarged share capital, up from 70.58 per cent at the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, the proportion of shares classified as free float declined from 21.52 per cent to 12.78 per cent, despite an increase in their absolute number from 2.39 billion to 2.60 billion shares.

LASACO disclosed in its nine-month filing that it was working towards meeting the Nigerian Exchange’s free-float requirements for companies listed on its Main Board.

The ownership changes coincided with an improvement in the insurer’s financial performance, as it returned to profitability in the nine months ended September 30, 2026.

Profit before tax stood at N1.60 billion, compared with a loss of N4.72 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, while profit after tax recovered to approximately N1.25 billion from a loss of N4.81 billion.

Insurance revenue increased by 3.70 per cent to N23.81 billion from N22.96 billion, while insurance service expenses fell by 22.79 per cent to N15.45 billion from N20.01 billion.

The company’s cash and cash equivalents also rose to N33.76 billion from N14.82 billion at the end of December 2025, while shareholders’ funds increased to N39.71 billion from N20.36 billion, supported by proceeds from the share issuance.

However, operating cash flow remained negative at N416.82 million, although this was an improvement on the N9.64 billion outflow recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.