NSE Stops Trading of Diamond Bank Shares Ahead of Delisting

By Dipo Olowookere

Shares of Diamond Bank Plc have been placed on full suspension by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the regulator has announced.

The embargo placed on the trading of the lender’s equities was made known on Wednesday morning in a notice to the market.

On Tuesday, Access Bank, which is acquiring Diamond Bank in form of a merger deal, announced to the investing community that it had received a court sanction to absolve the tier-two financial institution into Access Bank, a tier-one bank.

Based on the court approval, NSE said it was placing a full suspension on Diamond Bank shares on its trading platform.

This, it explained, was to determine the shareholders of Diamond Bank eligible to receive the scheme consideration.

Business Post reports that Access Bank is offering Diamond Bank shareholders N3.13 per share, comprising of N1.00 per share in cash and the allotment of 2 new Access Bank ordinary shares for every 7 Diamond Bank ordinary shares held as at the implementation date.

The offer represents a premium of 260 percent to the closing market price of 87 kobo per share of Diamond Bank on the NSE as of December 13, 2018, the date of the final binding offer.

“Dealing members are hereby notified that following the court sanction of the scheme of merger between Access Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc, trading in the shares of Diamond Bank Plc has been placed on full suspension on the NSE with effect from today, March 20, 2019.

“The suspension is required to prevent trading in the shares of the Bank in order to determine the bank’s shareholders who will qualify to receive the Scheme consideration. The bank obtained the court sanction of the scheme on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, being the effective date of the scheme.

“The bank’s shareholders passed a resolution approving the merger between Diamond Bank and Access Bank Plc at the court ordered meeting of the bank held on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. The scheme will result in the delisting of Diamond Bank Plc from the Daily Official List of the exchange,” the statement said.

Business Post reports that the share price of Diamond Bank at the NSE closed on Tuesday at N2.42 percent unit after going down by 1.63 percent.