Sunu Assurance Seeks Approval to Convert Debt to Equity, Raise N8bn

By Dipo Olowookere

The board of Sunu Assurance Nigeria Plc has announced its intention to ask for an approval from shareholders of the company to convert the debt it obtained from Daewoo Securities (Europe) Limited to equity at a “prevailing market price.”

In a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the firm said it plans to get this approval and others at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) slated for Monday, March 9, 2020 at 11am at Orchid Hotel on the Ikota-Epe Expressway in Lagos.

Also, at the meeting, the board said it would ask for the nod of shareholders to raise additional capital of up to N8 billion through any of rights issue, public offering, private/special placement, book building or other methods or combination of methods the directors may consider okay for the company.

“That the company be and is hereby authorised to raise whether by rights issue, public offering, private/ special placement, book building or other methods or combination of methods, additional capital of N8 billion or its equivalent in any foreign currency by way of issuance of ordinary shares, preference shares, convertible or non-convertible loans, stocks, medium term notes, bonds or other securities in such tranches, series or proportions at such coupons or interest rates within such maturity periods and on such other terms and conditions including the provision of security for payment as the directors may deem fit,” a part of the disclosure said.

Sunu Assurance hopes to raise this fresh capital to meet up with the new minimum capital base requirements of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), its industry’s regulator.

Another special request the board intends to get an approval for is the reconstruction of the company’s share capital by cancellation of four existing ordinary shares out of every five ordinary shares held by investors.

According to the notice, the total number of issued ordinary shares after this exercise will reduce to 2.8 billion units while 11.2 billion units would be cancelled and unissued.

In addition, Sunu Assurance said it wants the board to be authorised to repurchase the fractional shares arising from the share capital reconstruction in line with the provision of section 160(2)(b) of CAMA.