Access Bank Plc, a leading financial services organization led by Nigerian multimillionaire banker Herbert Wigwe, completed its structural transformation into a holding company on Monday.
Shares in the financial services group were listed on the Nigerian Exchange to finalize its transformation into a holding.
The move comes after the pan-African banking group received the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) “approval in principle” and a court order from the Federal High Court to restructure into a holding company.
This will bring it into line with other financial services providers such as Guaranty Trust Holding Co Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, all of which are currently operating under a holding company structure.
According to regulatory approvals and the scheme of arrangement, its 35.5 billion outstanding shares were delisted from the Nigerian Exchange’s daily official list and relisted under a new parent company known as Access Holdings Plc.
As a result, the ticker name of its shares on the local bourse has been changed from “ACCESS” to “ACCESSCORP” with the news of the listing and structural changes attracting new investors as its stock price increased 3.02 percent from N9.95 ($0.0239) at the opening of the Nigerian Exchange yesterday to N10.25 ($0.0247) at the close of trade on Monday.
Access Holdings’ market capitalization on the local bourse is assessed at N364.34 billion ($876.4 million), while Wigwe’s 4.26-percent stake is valued at N15.52 billion ($37.3 million).
Wigwe, Access Holdings’ group managing director, stated that, in addition to the opportunity in assets management, payments and other businesses in key value segments that it will be able to leverage to create value, the HoldCo structure will support the group’s international expansion plans, with the group aiming to be present in 22 countries over the next five years.
He added that this is consistent with the company’s goal of being present in the continent’s major trade corridors, and that it has recently completed the acquisition and consolidation of banks in South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana.
Its strategic expansion move across Africa paid huge dividends in 2021, with assets increasing to N11.7 trillion ($28.2 billion), up from N8.68 trillion ($20.9 billion) the previous year, cementing its position as Nigeria’s largest lender in terms of assets.
Profit rose by 51 percent from N106 billion ($255.1 million) in 2020 to N160.2 billion ($385.6 million) at the end of 2021, driven by a 27-percent increase in gross earnings due to strong performance across its operational sectors.
