Economy
NASD Delists ARM Life Shares After Merger With Tangerine Life
By Dipo Olowookere
Shares of ARM Life Plc have been delisted from the trading platform of the NASD over-the-counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, Business Post has confirmed.
The company’s securities were removed from the unlisted securities market by the exchange on Monday, March 1, 2021, after the firm was acquired by Tangerine Life Insurance Limited.
In February 2020, both companies said they were exploring each other’s strengths to form an impressive new enterprise that will delight its customers with its quality products and commitment to their satisfaction.
Tangerine Life has a very strong presence in the corporate market segment of the underwriting industry, while ARM Life is a formidable force in the retail and annuity-based service space.
With the merger, it is expected that the new entity will take control of the underwriting industry in Nigeria and from the information gathered by this newspaper, Tangerine Life has already cemented itself as the fourth largest life insurer in Nigeria with the transaction, allowing it to offer insurance services to the youth and others.
With the deal completed and ARM Life shares delisted from NASD OTC Exchange, the new company will likely operate as a private entity.
Confirming the exit of ARM Life from its platform, the NASD disclosed that in a notice that, “Further to the appointment of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited as the stockbrokers to the merger between Tangerine Life Insurance Limited and ARM Life Plc, we wish to inform you of the following:
“Following the full suspension placed on the shares of ARM Life Plc, the last trading date of ARM Life Plc on NASD OTC Securities Exchange was Thursday, February 11, 2021.
“Upon the completion of the merger between Tangerine and ARM life Plc, ARM Life Plc is delisted on the NASD OTC Securities Exchange on March 1, 2021, and would not be eligible to trade on its market.”
It was gathered that to make the deal go through, Tangerine Life had to acquire a 77.22 per cent equity stake in ARM Life and acquired a further 1.05 per cent equity stake through the subsequent mandatory take-over offer incompliance with the law and regulations, bringing its total shareholding in ARM Life to 78.27 per cent as at the date of the scheme document.
As consideration for the transfer, Tangerine Life will offer the other shareholders of ARM Life 70 kobo for every share held in the firm.
Shareholders also have the option to receive shares in Tangerine Life in the ratio of 8 shares in Tangerine Life for every 100 shares held in ARM Life.
Recall that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which regulates the sector, stipulated an increase in minimum capital requirements for life insurance, general insurance, composite insurance and reinsurance companies with a two-step target timeline of December 31, 2020, and September 30, 2021.
Specifically, the life insurance license capital requirement was increased from N2 billion to N8 billion, while life insurers are expected to have a minimum capital of N4 billion by December 31, 2020, and N8 billion by September 30, 2021.
The recapitalisation in the Nigerian insurance industry is expected to impact the competitive landscape of the insurance industry.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.
This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.
“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.
She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”
The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.
“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.
PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.
The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.
The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.
According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.
At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.
Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.
Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has again crossed the 150,000-point threshold on Thursday as the demand of for local intensifies.
The market was up by 0.35 per cent during the session, with the NGX index inching higher by 520.23 points to 150,363.05 points from the previous day’s 149,842.82 points and the market capitalisation climbed by N332 billion to N95.857 trillion from N95.525 trillion.
During the session, the consumer goods index grew by 1.23 per cent, the banking counter expanded by 0.56 per cent, and the energy sector appreciated by 0.05 per cent.
However, the insurance industry went down by 0.23 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods sectors closed flat.
Nestle Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N1,958.00, Guinness Nigeria improved by 9.98 per cent to N289.70, Aluminium Extrusion Industries rose by 9.76 per cent to N11.25, DAAR Communications soared by 9.20 per cent to 95 Kobo, and Mecure Industries surged by 9.13 per cent to N55.00.
On the flip side, Stanbic IBTC lost 9.33 per cent to settle at N95.20, Lasaco Assurance went down by 9.09 per cent to N2.50, Africa Prudential slipped by 8.82 per cent, Austin Laz depreciated by 8.82 per cent to N12.40, and Sterling Holdings crashed by 6.12 per cent to N6.90.
There were 35 price gainers and 26 price losers yesterday, implying a positive market breadth index and bullish investor sentiment.
During the session, a total of 839.8 million equities valued at N32.8 billion exchanged hands in 23,211 deals compared with the 5.9 billion equities worth N216.2 billion traded in 25,205 deals a day earlier, indicating a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 85.77 per cent, 84.83 per cent, and 7.91 per cent apiece.
The day’s busiest stock was First Holdco with a turnover of 385.6 million units sold for N15.6 billion, FCMB traded 76.0 million units worth N805.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 43.6 million units valued at N111.8 million, Access Holdings transacted 29.6 million units worth N616.8 million, and Chams sold 24.8 million units valued at N75.4 million.
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