Leadership (Abuja)
Ismail Tahir Funtua
24 August 2008
Ecobank Transnational plans to sell $2.5 billion of shares, in what it said is the biggest stock offering in Africa, to help fund new branches on the continent and expand in countries where it has no presence.
The combined offer of stock to existing shareholders and to the public will be held simultaneously on three west African exchanges in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, Lome, Togo-based Ecobank said in a statement. The offer opens Aug. 25.
"The proceeds of the offer will be utilised to further strengthen Ecobank's accelerated growth plan to expand its network of branches in countries where it currently operates," Chairman Mande Sidibe said in the statement. The bank will open new operations in countries on the continent where it has no offices.
Ecobank's stock offering will take place on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the Ghana Stock Exchange and the Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Ecobank said.
Almost 3.76 billion shares are being offered to existing investors at $0.27 apiece at a ratio of five new shares for every nine held. Another 5.12 billion are being offered to the public at $0.29 each.
This implies a discount of 20 per cent for the rights offer and 12.5 percent for the public offer to the 30-day volume-weighted average price of the company's stock across the three stock markets where it trades, Ecobank said.
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