SEC Okays Extension of Wapic Insurance Rights Issue

January 8, 2020
Wapic Insurance

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the request made by the board of Wapic Insurance Plc for an extension of the company’s rights issue.

Last week, Business Post hinted that the insurance company may likely extend the exercise to allow more shareholders partake in the rights issue aimed at raising funds up to N5.93 billion.

Wapic Insurance is selling a total of of 15,613,194,623 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 38 kobo per unit to its existing shareholders as at the close of business of Thursday, September 19, 2019.

In the rights issue, the firm is offering its qualified investors seven new ordinary shares for every six ordinary shares from Wednesday, November 20, 2019 to Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

But in order to capture more shareholders, the board approached SEC for an extension, which was granted and pushed further for a week.

On Monday, January 7, 2020, the Head of Listings Regulation Department at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, issued a circular to inform the market that the exercise will now close on Friday, January 10, 2020.

“Further to our market bulletin of November 20, 2019, wherein the market was notified of the offer period for the rights issue of Wapic Insurance Plc, please be informed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved a further extension of the offer period of Wapic Insurance Plc’s rights issue of 15,613,194,623 ordinary shares of N0.50 each at N0.38 per share on the basis of seven new ordinary shares for every six ordinary shares held as at the close of business on September 19, 2019.

“With this SEC’s approval, the offer which was initially scheduled to close on Tuesday, December 31, 2019, will now close on Friday, January 10, 2020,” the disclosure said.

Earlier in our report, it was stated that the exercise has really not lived up to expectations because of the offer price and the price movement of the stock at the stock exchange since the rights issue commenced.

The share price of Wapic Insurance only hit 38 kobo per unit for just three days; from November 27 to 29, 2019 before going down to 36 kobo per share on December 2 and then to 39 kobo per share on December 3 and 4, crashing to 36 kobo thereafter.

Business Post gathered that the share price even crashed to 33 kobo per unit at some points this month before getting back to life at 36 kobo as at the close of business on Friday, December 27, 2019.

Modupe Gbadeyanka

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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