UAC of Nigeria Plc, at the weekend, reported the sale of 80m ordinary shares by Blakeney LLP an “insider and substantial shareholder,” on August 5, 2020, at N5.75 each for N460m.
The transaction came barely two days after UACN announced its plan to sell UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) to Custodian Investments Plc at for undisclosed price, subject to regulatory approvals.
It is not known whether the shareholder still holds any stake in UACN, the country’s oldest conglomerate, given that between April 28, 2020 (its earliest record available on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s portal) and the latest filing, the investor had traded a total of 155m units representing 93.94% of its total 165.79m units or 6% stake at the end of its 2017 rights issue.
Between April 24 and 28, this year, according to records available on nse.com.ng, Blakeney LLP had sold 10m units of UACN at an average price of N6.20, totaling N62m; followed by another 10m units at N6.80 or N68m on May 11; and 15m shares on May 12, at N6.90, valued at N69m. On June 17, the shareholder again transferred 40m units of the conglomerate at N7 each, representing N70m
Other significant shareholders at the end of the rights issue were Stanbic IBTC Nominees, 225.23m units, or 8% equity stake; and Themis Capital Management, 232.35m units, or 8% equity.
Recall that in November 2017, UAC Nigeria sought to race N15.36bn by offering 960.43m ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N16 per share to pre-qualified shareholders by way of rights.
The new shares were pre-allotted to shareholders on the basis of one new share for every two shares held as at the close of business on Thursday October 19, 2017.