Access Bank completes N41.8bn Rights Issue

Access Bank Plc has announced the completion of its Rights Issue of N41.8bn ordinary shares at N6.90 per share.

Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Bank Plc

The Capital Raise which opened on January 26, 2015, offered a Rights Issue of one ordinary share for every existing three units at a price of N6.90 per share.

The Capital Raise, which accounts for 80 percent of the total number of New Ordinary Shares “offered to Shareholders puts investors in Access Bank firmly at the centre of its strategy, ensuring sustainable dividends through one of the strongest capital buffers as well as providing the means for further investment to exploit target markets,” according to a statement by Cathy Okwara of the bank’s Investor Relations unit.

Access Bank’s Group Managing Director Herbert Wigwe, said that “We are putting in place the building blocks for our future as we work to becoming a top three bank in Nigeria by 2017.

“The capital raised will allow us to retain our place amongst Nigeria’s best-capitalised banks and underscores our continued commitment to prudent risk management as we seek growth opportunities both in Nigeria and abroad.”

According to Wigwe, the additional capital will allow the bank to invest in “Our infrastructure and technology, which will make speed, service and security a guarantee for all our customers, as well as providing the firepower to diversify our geographic focus and target Africa’s fastest-growing industrial sectors.”

Shareholders commend the performance of the Bank and ability of its management to consistently enhance the quality and value of their investments, particularly through some of the strategic initiatives and decisions taken in the last couple of years, which signalled the direction the institution is heading.

Results of the issue has subsequently been approved by both the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)