Tony Elumelu’s United Capital Group, on Monday announced the acquisition of a strategic 5% equity stake in the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, which has remained a cornerstone of Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure, playing a critical role in advancing the nation’s economic development objectives.
The diversified financial services group with subsidiaries spanning Investment Banking, Consumer Finance, Trusteeship, Securities Trading, Asset Management, Wealth Management, and Microfinance Banking, according to publicly available data Elumelu, Chairman of the United Bank for Africa Plc and the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), exercises an indirect majority control in UCap through a 26% stake by West Coast Equity Limited.
A statement by Dr Leo Okafor, Group General Counsel/Company Secretary of United Capital, said the “equity investment in NGX Plc reflects its confidence in the future of the Nigerian capital market and underscores its commitment to supporting the institutions that drive market development, investor confidence, and economic prosperity. It also positions the Group to contribute meaningfully to the future evolution of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.”
Commenting on the development, Peter Ashade, Group Chief Executive Officer, United
Capital Group, said it “reflects our confidence in Nigeria’s capital markets and our responsibility to contribute to their growth actively.
“We have always said that United Capital is not just a participant in Nigeria’s capital markets; we are also builders. This strategic investment in NGX Plc is exactly that: we are building for impact. It is our vote of confidence in the leadership and strategic direction of the NGX, and where the capital market is headed, and this is our commitment to supporting them to get there,” he added.
Continuing, Ashade noted that the “strategic investment is consistent with United Capital’s broader vision: to create sustainable, long-term value for its shareholders while playing an active role in advancing the ecosystems in which we operate.”
With a growing footprint across 12 countries across West, East, and Central Africa, along with a full-service suite covering investment banking, asset management, securities trading, and wealth management, the statement that United Capital is uniquely positioned to leverage this equity stake in ways that benefit both the Group and the wider market.
The NGX Group strategic investment, Okafor stressed, reinforces its commitment to the sustainable growth of the market and positioning itself to participate in, and contribute to, the next phase of the Exchange’s evolution.
This development, he further noted, is in line with a series of significant strategic milestones by the Group, including the successful recapitalisation of all its subsidiaries well ahead of regulatory deadlines and the recent acquisition of operational licences in Ethiopia and Rwanda. The Ethiopian deal, he assured, makes UCap the first foreign investment bank licensed to operate in the country, further advancing the Group’s Pan-African growth strategy.
UCap was listed on the NGX on January 17, 2013, becoming Africa’s foremost investment banking and financial services institution by deploying innovation, technology, and specialist expertise to exceed client expectations while creating sustainable value for all stakeholders.
The NGX Group, following its 2021 demutualisation has a diversified ownership structure across institutional investors and individual shareholders. Under the rules of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, any entity holding up to a 5% is considered a substantial shareholder.
Those currently in that class include VFD Group Plc, the single largest institutional shareholder with an equity stake of 5.17%, as well as the 5% holding by FPNG Co-Nvest Limited.
