Honeywell Flour Mill gains $12.57 million as Greek tycoon John Coumantaros makes acquisition move

Nigerian integrated flour milling company Honeywell Flour Mills has seen its market capitalization rise by N5.15 billion ($12.57 million) as investors on the Nigerian Exchange scramble for shares.

Honeywell Flour Mills is a leading flour and pasta product manufacturer in Nigeria. The miller operates as a subsidiary of Honeywell Group, an investment holding founded by Nigerian multimillionaire industrialist Obafoluke Otudeko.

As of press time, Nov. 25, shares in the leading miller were trading at N4.04 ($0.0985), 9.21-percent higher than their opening price for the day, as investors on the local bourse continued to bid shares at higher prices as buying pressures mounted.

Since Greek multimillionaire tycoon John Coumantaros’s agro-allied group Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc signed a definitive deal to acquire a majority stake in the miller on Nov. 22 from Honeywell Group, its share price has increased from N3.39 ($0.00826) to N4.04 ($0.00985).

The surge in the share price translates to a 19.17-percent gain for shareholders.

As a result of the appreciation, Honeywell Flour Mills’ market capitalization has reached N26.88 billion ($65.53 million).

Earlier this week, Flour Mills of Nigeria signed an agreement with Honeywell Group to acquire a 71.69-percent stake in its flour milling business, Honeywell Flour Mills, worth N80 billion ($194.7 million).

In addition, it will acquire another 5.06-percent stake in Honeywell Flour Mills belonging to First Bank of Nigeria Limited, taking its ownership interest to 76.75 percent.

The transaction, which will be completed through Flour Mills of Nigeria special purpose vehicles, including Excelsior Shipping, will be funded through cash and debt funding. This is expected to add to the group’s debt portfolio, which presently hovers above the N140-billion ($340 million) mark.

The group noted that they do not see debt repayment negatively impacting dividend payout in the near to medium term, as some short-term debt obligations may be converted into long-term debt.