Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The core investor of PZ Cussons Nigerian Plc, PZ Cussons (Holdings) Limited, has increased the price it is offering the minority shareholders of the company by 15 per cent.
In September 2023, the major shareholder in PZ Cussons put its offer price for the acquisition at N20 per unit, but this was reportedly rejected by the small investors.
In a notice to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, the company said this amount has been raised to N23 per share, with the board stressing that it sees this as a fair value.
According to the statement signed by the acting company secretary, Ms Olubukola Olonade-Agaga, this new amount “represents a premium of 35 per cent to the company’s share price of N17 on August 17, 2023, being the last traded price prior to the offer date.”
PZ Cussons wants to delist its shares from the local stock exchange, and its core investor is looking to be in total control of the company’s equities as the firm goes private.
There had been talks in the past years that the manufacturer of healthcare products and consumer goods was planning to leave Nigeria because of unfavourable market conditions.
The Nigerian space has witnessed the exit of major players in the sector, including GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, and others, due to the above reasons.
Recently, the board of PZ Cussons met to discuss the takeover and it said the N23 PZ Cussons Holdings was offering should be approved by the minority shareholders.
The deal is to be concluded through a Scheme of Arrangement in line with section 715 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, No.3 of 2020 (as amended) and other applicable rules and regulations.
In the statement yesterday, the board disclosed that it has “approved that a general meeting of the company’s shareholders be convened pursuant to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s No-objection and an order by the Federal High Court.
However, details of the Court Ordered Meeting, which includes the date, time, venue and agenda for the gathering, have not been revealed, though the board promised to communicate this to “shareholders upon receipt of the requisite approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal High Court.”
It noted that, “The terms and conditions of the offer will be provided in the Scheme Document, which will be dispatched to all shareholders prior to the Court Ordered Meeting.”
