UBA Plc Earmarks Fresh N157.84bn Rights Issue Proceeds For Network, Lending Expansion, IT
United Bank for Africa Plc, on Wednesday began the process of shoring up its capital with fresh ₦157.843bn through the issuance of 3,156,869,665 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to existing shareholders at ₦50.00 per share via rights issue. Barring a possible over-subscription, the offer will raise UBA Group’s issued and fully paid-up share capital to 44,196,175,305 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.
According to details of the offer contained in the rights circular, the offer is on the basis of one new ordinary share for every 13 ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Wednesday, July 16, 2025.
Of the issue’s ₦154.737bn net proceeds, the group has earmarked N61.894bn or 40% for the expansion of its lending portfolio over the next 12 months. The balance is split into ₦46.421bn or 30% each to business network expansion and upgrade, as well as technology and digital transformation within the next four years.
The offer, according to a notice on the Nigerian Exchange Limited platform by Bili Odum, the Group Company Secretary/Legal Counsel, and has been duly approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Rights Issue “represents the second tranche under the Bank’s ₦400bn Equity Shelf Programme, which was duly registered with the SEC.”
Offering a background to the latest capital raising effort, chairman of the group, Tony Elumelu, in a letter to shareholders, recalled that “the first equity issuance under the equity programme closed on December 24, 2024, with a N239.4bn rights issue achieved and a 104.8% subscription level, which was subsequently scaled down to a 100% allotment.”
Such strong performance, he believes,reflects significant investor confidence in UBA’s strategy and growth prospects, adding that the fresh capital bid “will enable the bank meet the new minimum capital requirements set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while also supporting its strategic expansion plans and enhancing long-term shareholder value.”
The programme, he added, “is designed to ensure compliance with the new minimum capital requirements stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while also supporting UBA’s strategic expansion objectives and long-term value creation for shareholders.
Market capitalisation at rights issue price is expected to jump from ₦2.051tr to ₦2.209tr (assuming full subscription) at the close of the offer on September 5, 2025.
Whereas, arrangements have been made for shareholders who will not take their rights at all, or in full to trade the balance on the NGX between July 30 and the closing date, ordinary shares not taken up by the closing date of the issue “will be allotted to Shareholders who apply for additional shares on a pro-rata basis, i.e. all subscribers will be allotted an equal proportion of the amount applied for, in line with SEC Rules. Accordingly, the Shareholders who do not accept their allotment in full may have their shareholding in the bank diluted.”
