Active trading in Access Bank stocks as bank cancels EGM for rights issue approval

Access Bank Nigeria Plc has cancelled its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled to take place February 1st, 2019 and expressed its regret over any inconvenience the cancellation will cause shareholders in a notice filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The bank’s EGM announced late last month was meant to address eight special business resolutions of which the raising of N75 billion through a rights issue was part of.

According to the notice signed by Sunday Ekwochi, company secretary for Access Bank, shareholders were to grant or rescind approval for directors to raise additional equity capital of up to a maximum of N75 billion by way of a rights issue on terms and conditions and on such dates as may be determined by the directors, subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.

The shareholders were to also deliberate on an increase in the bank’s authorised share capital. The bank was proposing that the authorized share capital be increased from N20 billion made up of N38 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each and two billion preference shares of 50 kobo each to N35 billion by the creation of 30 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Although the bank gave no reason for the cancellation of the EGM or dates when these and other business resolutions will be addressed, the stock of the tier one lender  hascontinued to record notable performance.

It ended Tuesday as the second most traded stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange after Diamond Bank. Its share price closed flat at N5.60 per share as investors exchanged 26,997,462 units amounting to N151.1 million in 178 deals.