The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), on Friday delisted the entire share capital of Great Nigeria Insurance Plc from its official list, in what it said followed the December 13, 2018 notice of approval of an application to that effect.
According to GNI’s 2017 audited financials, Insurance Resourcery & Consultancy Limited holds 2.87bn units or 75% stake; Odu’a Investment Company Ltd, 348.138m shares or 9%; while ‘others’ are left with 608.733m units, or 16%.
It recalled that the application was filed by MBC Securities Limited of GNI for the voluntary delisting of its entire share capital with effect from Friday, January 25, 2019.
The delisting followed a unanimous approval at an extraordinary general meeting by shareholders in Lagos, wherein GNI’s chairman, Bada Aluko, blamed the decision on the fact that “in the last five years, there is (has been) little or no trading activity with only 0.50 per cent of shares held by the minority shareholders being traded.
“There has also been a measurable fall in trading volumes over the last 12 months with an average daily volume of circa 1,200 units between January 2017 and December 2017,” he stressed.
Neither the company nor shareholders, he continued, is therefore benefiting from the continued listing as shares are not getting any exit opportunity and investments have been locked up, while the company is bearing unnecessary cost in complying with its listing obligations.