Unilever To Take Part In Nigerian Arm’sN59bn Rights Issue

Anglo-Dutch giant- Unilever on Wednesday said it will participate in the ongoing N58.85bn ($162 million) share sale by its Nigerian arm, rather than convert an existing loan made to the subsidiary into equity.
To raise this amount, the company intends to raise the funds through a rights issue of 1.96bn ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each to existing shareholders at a price of N30 per share on a basis of 14 New Ordinary Shares for every Twenty-seven (27) Shares held.
Unilever Nigeria, 60.05% owned by Unilever, is aiming to raise money to pay off loans owed to related firms and to give it some flexibility in the event of a further devaluation of the Naira, its Chief Financial Officer, Adesola Sotande-Peters, told analysts on a conference call.
Sotande-Peters said Unilever Nigeria owed sister firms in Ghana and elsewhere $120m in foreign currency and a further $64m to its parent, which it plans to repay with proceeds from the share sale.
Unilever granted its Nigerian unit a $108m loan to help it with dollar shortages in Africa’s biggest economy, brought on by low oil prices, the unit said in its prospectus.
Despite recession in Nigeria, it remains Africa’s single largest consumer market.

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