By Adedapo Adesanya
The board of Air Liquide Nigeria Plc has expressed its desire to raise fresh capital from the capital market through a rights issue. A notice from the NASD Over-The-Counter Securities Exchange disclosed that the company intends to raise the sum of N2.07 billion from its existing shareholders.
Air Liquide is a world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and health. The company has presence in 80 countries with approximately 66,000 employees and serves more than 3.6 million customers and patients.
In the NASD notice, it was stated that Air Liquide, through its stockbroker, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, filed an application to seek approval for the rights issue and its eventual listing on the exchange’s trading platform.
The firm plans to sell a total of 414,000,000 units of 50k each of the shares at N5 per unit on the basis of 23 new ordinary shares for every 10 ordinary shares held.
According to the notice, only shareholders who had shares of the Air Liquide as at the close of business on Tuesday, October 15, 2019, would be able to buy the additional shares at the above price.
“Participating institutions of the NASD OTC Securities Exchange are hereby notified that Air Liquide Plc (SDAIRLIQ) has through its stockbroker, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, submitted an application to The NASD OTC Securities Exchange for the approval and listing of a rights issue of four hundred and fourteen million (414,000,000) units of 50k each at five Naira (N5.00) per share, on the basis of twenty-three (23) new ordinary shares for every ten (10) ordinary shares held.
“The qualification date for the rights is today, Tuesday, 15 October 2019,” the notice issued last week read.
Business Post reports that as at the time of filing this report, shares of Air Liquide Nigeria Plc were traded at N6.00 per unit. This rate is its 52-week high, while N5.50 per share is its 52-week low.
Recall that last month, the NASD gave companies listed on its platform the room to seek ways to raise fresh capital for their operations through rights issue. Since the exchange gave out guidelines on how to go about their route, Air Liquide is the first firm to seek this alternative form of sourcing for funds.
Dipo Olowookere