Stakeholders said the Fidelity Bank Plc’s N127.1 billion combined rights and public offers is a step in the right direction.
They said Fidelity Bank’s N127.1 billion combined rights and public offer was the right way for the bank in its recapitalization exercise.
Fidelity Bank is offering a rights issue of 3.2 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N9.25 per share. The bank is also simultaneously offering 10 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the general investing public at N9.75 per share.
The acceptance and application lists for the rights issue and public offer, which opened on Thursday, June 20, 2024, are scheduled to close on Monday, July 29, 2024. The rights issue has been pre-allotted on the basis of one new ordinary share for every 10 existing ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Friday, January 05, 2024.
The Doyen of Stockbrokers, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuf, said Fidelity Bank has good records going for it with its history of impressive growth and profitability and dividend payments.
According to him, the bank is known to the market as a good investment, with evident records of impressive returns and corporate responsibility.
Yussuf, who was already a leading stockbroker and managing director of Trust Yields Securities Limited in 2004-2005 when Fidelity Bank launched its initial public offering (IPO) and listed its shares at the stock market, said the bank has been hitting “all positive records” that should encourage investors to buy more into it.
Referencing the bank’s impressive returns, Yussuf, who has more than five decades in the capital market and was principal dealing clerk for ICON Limited/ICON Stockbrokers in 1976, particularly noted that Fidelity Bank has been paying “good dividends”.
Acting Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr. Jude Chiemeka, commended Fidelity Bank for its performance and willingness to avail the investing public of every relevant information.
He assured that the NGX remains committed to supporting companies like Fidelity Bank in its quests to deepen the capital markets and foster an environment conducive to sustainable growth and innovation.
Chairman, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr Sam Onukwue, who recalled the founding days of Fidelity Bank in 1987, said he had watched Fidelity Bank sustain a commendable growth trajectory over the years.
He said the bank has shown exceptional growth and resilience, rising from being a private merchant in 1987 to becoming one of the largest, publicly quoted commercial banks in Nigeria. Fidelity Bank is one of the seven Nigerian banks with international banking licences.
Onukwue, who is also managing director of Mega Equities Limited, said Fidelity Bank’s history of performance underlines the strength of its management, noting that the bank has proven to be able to keep investors’ trust.
Chairman, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr. Ahonsi Unuigbe, said the combined offer marked a pivotal moment for the bank and the financial services sector.
“This is a testament to Fidelity Bank’s unwavering commitment to strengthening its own capital base and ensuring sustainable growth through amazing roles played by all of the professional parties to this transaction,” Unuigbe, an investment banker and former director at Standard Bank, said.
He said the new banking recapitalisation is aimed at bolstering the resilience and stability of the nation’s financial institutions.
According to him, the ongoing recapitalisation has set robust minimum capital requirements that will ensure Nigerian banks are not only more solvent, but also capable of supporting the growth and development of the economy.