Nigerian businessman and renowned investment banker Atedo Peterside has acquired an additional stake in the Nigeria-based financial holding Stanbic IBTC Holdings in a deal worth N335.83 million ($817,300) through one of his linked entities, First Anap Domestic Trust.
The group issued notifications on the Nigerian Exchange regarding insider share-dealing, which revealed that Peterside acquired 4,444,448 shares on Nov. 1 and an additional 4,166,667 shares on Nov. 2 at a price of N39 ($0.0949) per share.
In total, the multimillionaire acquired 8,611,115 ordinary shares in Stanbic IBTC between Nov. 1 and 2. This put the cash consideration for the share acquisition at N335.83 million ($817,300).
Atedo is the founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Anap Business Jets Limited and the Atedo N. A. Peterside Foundation. As of June 2021, the multimillionaire held 125,000,000 ordinary shares in the Lagos-based holding company.
With the recent acquisition, his stake in Stanbic IBTC has increased from 125,000,000 ordinary shares, or 1.14 percent, on June 30 to 133,611,115 ordinary shares as of the time of writing, according to research conducted by Billionaires.Africa.
The share purchase comes barely two weeks after the holding posted its 9M financial results, in which it reported a 39.6-percent decline in profit.
The acquisition has spurred investors on the Nigerian Exchange to review Stanbic’s third-quarter filings, as the share acquisition by Peterside and Stanbic Africa Holdings Limited raised questions about the group’s valuation.
Meanwhile, equity market observers believe the insiders are purchasing the group’s shares at bargain prices.
As of press time, shares in Stanbic IBTC Holdings were trading at N39 ($0.0949). At the current price, the group’s market capitalization is pegged at N505.32 million ($1.23 billion).
Meanwhile, the market value of Peterside’s 1.22-percent stake is valued at N5.2 billion ($12.68 million).
In the first nine months of the current financial year, Stanbic IBTC Holdings revealed that its profit for the nine-month period fell by nearly 40 percent from N66.2 billion ($161.1 million) in 2020 to N39.9 billion ($97.1 million) in 2021, impacted by a slump in trading revenue.
The weak performance pressured gross earnings downward by 20 percent from N183.3 million ($446.1 million) in 2020 to N146.6 million ($356.8 million) in 2021. Internal factors, including an increase in operating expenses, pressured the group’s earnings below the N40-billion ($97.3 million) mark, from N66.2 billion ($161.1 million) a year ago.
