Female Director Pays N345m for 300 million Sterling Bank Stocks

By Dipo Olowookere

A non-executive director at Sterling Bank Plc has coughed out about N345 million for 300 million units of the bank’s stocks.

The transaction was executed last month in a cross deal, which saw the transfer of the shares from Mr Balogun Shuaib Adesina to Ess-ay Investment Limited, a company where the buyer, Mrs Tairat Tijani, has interest in. Ess-ay Investment Limited is one of the core investors in the financial institution.

Sterling Bank, which announced the transaction in a disclosure yesterday, stated that the transfer of the shares was done in tranches.

According to the lender, the transaction, which was done online on Tuesday, March 31, 2020, had 90 million units exchanging hands in the first tranche. The same units were transferred in the second and third tranches, while 30 million units were transferred in the last tranche.

It was further stated that Mrs Tijani acquired the 300 million units of Sterling Bank shares at a unit price of N1.15, amounting to N345 million.

Mrs Tijani has served on the board of Sterling Bank as non-executive director since November 14, 2014, according to her profile on the internet.

She is an expert in the capital market and was formerly the Head, Capital Markets Division of FBN Capital (a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, formerly First Bank of Nigeria Plc), where she had oversight responsibility for deal origination and transaction execution.

Mrs Tijani has garnered significant experience as an operator in the capital market, participating in several landmark transactions which have contributed immensely towards the development of the Nigerian capital market.

She is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria.

She is also a member of the Board Finance and General Purpose Committee, Member of the Board Governance & Remuneration Committee, Member of the Board Risk Management Committee, and Member of the Board Audit Committee of the Company.

Mrs Tijani graduated from Lancaster University with Honours in Accounting, Finance and Economics. She also graduated with a distinction in MBA, International Business from the University of Birmingham.