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Economy

$60m Buyout: Shareholders Want Forensic Audit of 7up

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By Dipo Olowookere

Both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have been urged to urgently to conduct a forensic audit of Nigeria’s 7Up Bottling Company.

This plea was made by Nigerian shareholders in the firm and it followed the planned buyout by Affelka, its parent company of 7Up.

This development is also coming at a time one of the leading indigenous oil firm in Nigeria, Oando Plc is facing a similar crisis, though the firm is preventing the regulator from conducting a forensic audit of its affair.

This issue allegedly led to the suspension of the regulatory chief, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

The shareholders want the capital market regulators to unravel circumstances surrounding the deal, which they believe is not totally clean.

Speaking with Daily Sun on telephone, the shareholders argued that they were unconvinced that the recent takeover notification of the company was not fraudulent scheme as there was no reason to suggest the firm was doing badly in its sector.

Recall that Affelka, majority shareholder of Seven-Up Bottling Company, had last week offered to pay $60 million (N19.33 billion) to buy out minority shareholders in Nigerian operation. According to the proposal, the buyout is aimed at restructuring the struggling company.

Affelka is the privately held investment firm owned by Lebanese El-Khalil family and it is offering to pay N112.70 per share for the minority stake of 171.5 million shares. This is an 18 percent premium to last Thursday’s share price of N95.50k.

“As of now, we have received an offer from the majority shareholder of the company. It’s a financial restructuring,” said Sunil Sawhney, Vice Chairman of 7Up Bottling Company.

He said the company has been making losses for some time and that the deal was aimed at restructuring the bottler, which distributes PepsiCo’s 7Up, Pepsi and Mirinda-branded drinks.

But minority shareholders in Nigeria rejected Sawhney’s explanation, pointing out that they seriously smelled a rat, and argued that the notification was out to short-change local investors.

According to Mr Gbadebo Olatokunbo, a shareholder activist, the 57 years old company is making good sales and profit with very good price at the NSE with the good result and return on investment in 2014.

“But suddenly, by the first half of 2015, something known only to its few foreign team within the company happened and the company started reporting losses.

“The drift continued and the same powers behind the scenes are now ready to buyout local investors at their price,” Mr Olatokunbo wondered.

He asked, “Why the renewed interest of the majority shareholders in a suddenly sick company? Why are they now interested in the takeover when the company wasn’t growing? How are we sure they weren’t the brains behind the unexpected bad results?”

Mr Olatokunbo stated that, “We are of very strong view that the proposed injection of $60 million is part of our profit on investments in 7Up, which was denied us and now about to be presented as a bailout-fund for a very solid 7Up Company, which we view with serious suspicion. It is a slap on our collective business senses and we hereby ask for a forensic audit of our company, 7Up, from 2014.”

In his own reaction, President of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA), Mr Timothy Adesiyan, said the news of the buyout offer was very disheartening.

“We thank God for the life of the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, who made it possible for Nigerians to be part owners of these multinationals because it was during his tenure that a law was made, which made it possible for Nigerian shareholders to be part owners of these companies.

“But what is happening now is very disheartening because the gimmick is to shut out the local investors.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) are not helping matters because most of the people there now don’t know what it took the former president to make Nigerians part owners of these multinationals,” he lamented.

He appealed to the Federal Government to look into the matter to stop foreigners from short-changing local investors because they are making money here.

For his part, Mr Boniface Okezie, National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), blamed SEC and NSE for this issue.

According to him, “we saw it coming. Since SEC and NSE approved the delisting of NBC, we knew that others will follow suit. What are they restructuring?”

He explained that all boils down to short-changing local shareholders, adding that they are just after the buyout to delist from NSE and then, escape from corporate governance code because they are no longer listed.

Mr Okezie, however, urged the capital market regulators to subject 7Up to rigorous test to confirm some of its claims and also not to renege on its regulatory role of protecting minority shareholders.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via dipo.olowookere@businesspost.ng

Economy

NASD OTC Bourse Weakens 0.23%

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Nigeria's Unlisted Securities Market Sheds 0.78%, NASD Shares up 8.31%

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.23 per cent on Wednesday, April 2, after the market resumed from a two-day holiday observed on Monday and Tuesday.

There were three price gainers and three price losers at the first trading session of the new week and month.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost 23 Kobo during the trading day to close at N36.50 per unit compared with last Friday’s N36.73 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 22 Kobo to sell at N2.48 per share versus N2.70 per share, and Food Concepts Plc slipped by 13 Kobo to end at N1.17 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s closing price of N1.30 per unit.

On the flip side, Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) Plc grew by 23 Kobo yesterday to end at N2.63 per share compared with the preceding day’s N2.40 per share, IPWA Plc appreciated by 5 Kobo to 55 Kobo per unit from N50 Kobo per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc marginally increased by 1 Kobo to close at 36 Kobo per share versus 35 Kobo per share.

When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation lost N4.45 billion to settle at N1.910 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.915 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) shed 7.71 points to 3,308.46 points from 3,316.17 points.

During the session, the volume of securities transacted by investors increased by 625.8 per cent to 9.1 million units from the 1.3 million units, but the value of transactions went down by 17.5 per cent to N7.2 million from N8.8 million, and the number of deals rose by 100 per cent to 22 deals from 11 deals.

Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 70.2 million units sold for N23.8 million, and Geo Fluids Plc with 44.2 million units valued at N89.4 million.

FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, with the sale of 13.7 million units valued at N529.1 million, was the most traded stock by value (year-to-date), trailed by Impresit Bakolori Plc with a turnover of 533.9 million units worth N520.9 million, and Afriland Properties Plc with 17.8 million units sold for N364.2 million.

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Economy

The Rising Attraction of Crypto Presales

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crypto presales

Crypto presales have become a fundamental pillar within the blockchain fundraising landscape, providing a vantage point to investors for outstanding buying opportunities even before public and secondary markets. Due to these presales, the investor can avail discounted prices for tokens and acquire significant returns on the investment in case the project takes off afterward. For those with an eye on presale crypto, it’s believed that getting to either an illegal or an unreliable presale is pretty hard; thus every avenue must be exploited. Consequently, then, in the world of cryptocurrencies, presale has turned out to be a crucial modality for both developers and investors to somehow pave the way for seeding even better alternatives.

What Do You Mean By Crypto Presale?

Presales are the early fundraising events conducted by blockchain projects that let them sell their native tokens to a limited class of investors before they make an official public offer at retail or before listing on the exchanges. Here, the ones who are privileged to participate are on a whitelisting that mostly consists of very early supporters, venture capitalists, or community representatives. Through participation in a presale, investors get the chance to obtain tokens at lower price points, often including some additional bonuses or incentives. For the projects, presales present their funding opportunity and build a loyal community before going public.

Why Do Crypto Presales Matter to Stakeholders?

It is imperative for a project intending to develop a blockchain project to put on a crypto presale to assist in bridging the gap of capital necessary for the build-up and scaling of the platform; allowing early stakeholders the opportunity to benefit by truly supporting the project in its off-the-ground stages. For the stature investor, the presale is a particular investment opportunity in itself, developing a guarantee that projects of substantial promise might potentially reward high returns. Furthermore, presale tokens are based on either added governance rights, staking returns, or perquisites from the platform in a constrained fashion, vanishing all but one or two.

Participating in Crypto Presales

Becoming a spectator in a crypto presale must be well-earned; the investor must display a satisfactory level of underweight. Firstly, the probable investor should know any right projects-that is, to research the whitepapers, the team, and the roadmap. In many projects, one must be on a whitelist, which generally requires performing small tasks such as tracking social media accounts. Often following retweets, sharing posts, or joining other channels of this community will hide a whitelist. Once he/she is whitelisted, an investor will have to send various cryptocurrencies to the required address (mostly Ethereum or BINANCE) in exchange for presale tokens. It is important to check the legitimacy and be secure while scouting a presale.

Risks Associated with Crypto Presales

Well, crypto presales might offer fantastic opportunities, yet none are without risks. Due to the very little regulation in the crypto space, an investor has very minimal protection when it comes to scam projects. Most of the presale projects are in their very initial stages, which in turn makes it difficult to judge the long-term viability of the project. Moreover, the sphere is so great because the presale tokens can see very abrupt spikes or dips once the project is operational. Scams and marauding projects are no joke, thus it falls most urgently on you to research a bunch of these and stake only what you can afford to lose.

Key Factors to Evaluate in a Crypto Presale

There are a few criteria that shall be essential for making a positive effect on the project. The problem that is supposed to be solved must find proper rationale or should not better still just be significant and observable. This means a useful case here, which will only help to justify its chance of adoption. These experienced engineers and advisors are supposed to make the roles in the success of their projects and are commonly rewarded within the scope of project tokens. Tokenomics comes into the equation when fairly transparent with how tokens are used and distributed. A community that stands with a weak amount of support is not in the best interest, though partnerships and community support are in place to partner the project with success and enhance its reputation.

The Role of Community in Crypto Presales

The credibility of the community is very important for crypto presales. If the community is active and supportive, it can push for mass adoption, create network effects, and increase the value of presale tokens. Many projects actively engage their communities by providing forums for discussion using social media pages, forums, and Telegram groups, thus fostering a sense of ownership and loyalty among early supporters. An active community can be taken as a good indicator by investors, showing genuine interest and support towards the forward motion of the project.

Notable Examples of Successful Crypto Presales

Numerous great crypto presales have been able to change the lives of early investors, turning millionaires overnight. For instance, in 2014, holding its presale, Ethereum went on to make over $18 million, which eventually opened up the road for the subsequently occurring DeFi paradigm. Binance Coin (BNB) is the other excellent token that did a presale before launch and has grown to become one of the leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The above few examples represent what crypto presales are capable of doing in the name of innovation and value for early contributors.

The Future of Crypto Presales

The future of presales will be engineered by the evolution of regulations, technological advances, and market trends. With maturity, one would expect to see relatively standardized administrative processes, in the hope of attracting society’s most unfathomable level of belief in us through due diligence by misaligned objectives in governance and scrutinization processes of the presales. Additionally, with the progression of artificial intelligence and IoT into blockchain integration, it is almost certain that there are other horizons to reach for presales. As the noise of presales dissipates, they may subside into more elaborate, more reliable tools of exploitation in the crypto life.

Spotting Scams in Crypto Presales

The increasing popularity of crypto presales has led to a corresponding increase in scam cases that investors need to guard against. Some triggers are extremely risky: especially those offering returns that seem unreasonable or lack transparency. Some of the worst offenders come with anonymous teams, greatly marked-up whitepapers and careful yet chaotic marketing campaigns. One has to complete thorough due diligence to check for such key things as audits, public opinion, and a proven track record by their team. Platforms that provide information on where to buy presale crypto also add insights and ratings from actual users to help in testing authentic projects.

The Relevance of Regulation in Crypto Presales

The regulation has become a key part of influencing the direction of crypto presales. Countries differ from one another; some nations have given in to pre-sales and accepted them as a way to raise revenue, while others have put forth stringent rules about pre-sales. Regulation can save investors by providing transparency and making people accountable, although it does come at the risk of stifling innovation. The harmony between investor protection and the evolution of innovation would be a key factor, using the increasing age of crypto to propel presales in the years to come. Websites that display information on the regulation of presale platforms, where investors can look up the rules governing it, make it easier for investors to navigate.

In Conclusion

Crypto Presales have become vital to the blockchain ecosystem, giving willing investors early access to potentially worthwhile projects with huge returns. For anyone still wondering where to buy presale crypto, the critical point for them is to engage in deep research and due diligence. While they have their risks, presales bestow their support in favor of breakthroughs while nurturing the possibilities of reaping the healthy fruits upon them. In the long run, presales are destined to play a crucial role in fundraising and innovation, and whoever can put in effort into the dynamic and malleable space will surely find the chance circulating it. Understanding the future of crypto assets in a changing world, hence, requires comprehensive realities on presales, be you an investor, developer, or just an enthusiast of the crypto sector.

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Economy

Naira Gains 0.43% at Official Market as Nigeria’s Net FX Reserves Hit $23bn

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Naira 4 Dollar

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Wednesday, April 2 by 0.43 per cent or N6.63 to trade at N1,531.63/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,531.63/$1.

This happened after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed that its net forex reserves reached $23.11 billion last year, a development that boosted the confidence of investors.

In a report earlier this week, the apex bank said net foreign exchange reserves for last year was the highest in the last three years, signalling a major improvement in the country’s external financial position.

The CBN said the improved position was due to “substantial reduction” in short-term foreign exchange liabilities, notably swaps and forward obligations.

It also cited measures aimed at boosting forex market confidence and reserves, alongside increased non-oil foreign exchange inflows.

The domestic currency also improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N9.21 to close at N1,982.66/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,991.87/£1 and gained N4.03 on the Euro to quote at N1,656.96/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,660.99/€1.

But in the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the US Dollar on Wednesday by N5 to trade at N1,555/$1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s rate of N1,550/$1.

In the cryptocurrency market, the US President, Mr Donald Trump’s sweeping reciprocal tariffs on China and other nations affected traders’ decisions yesterday.

On Wednesday, President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports from 180 nations, including higher taxes on trading partners identified as worst offenders, such as China and the European Union.

This suppressed Solana (SOL) by 4.0 per cent to $119.14 and Cardano (ADA) went down by 2.6 per cent to finish at $0.6496, with Ethereum (ETH) down by 1.6 per cent to $1,825.59, while Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 1.5 per cent to sell at $0.1658.

Further, Ripple (XRP) dropped 1.0 per cent to settle at $2.05, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.9 per cent to close at $83,246.52, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.

However, Litecoin (LTC) recorded a 2.2 per cent rise to sell for $83.56, and Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 1.3 per cent to end at $606.76.

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