FBN Holdings: Court Begins Hearing Today; Lender To Raise N139bn Capital

First Bank Holdings Plc, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria, FBN Ltd has notified the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, of its plan to raise N139 billion fresh capital through a Right issue.

The development comes as a federal high court in Lagos is set to commence hearing of proceedings to determine the status of the 11th Annual General Meeting of First Bank Holdings Plc.

On July 15, 2022, the Court granted an order restricting FBN Holding Plc from implementing all the decisions taken at its 10th Annual General Meeting held on June 20, 2022, at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

The suit filed by a shareholder of the bank, Olusegun Onagoruwa will be heard today (Thursday).

Instructively, the shareholders of the bank had in June this year, during its 11 Annual General Meeting, AGM passed a resolution for the capital to be raised.

The resolution was backed by over 98 percent of the shareholders with voting rights, granting the management powers to increase the company’s issued share capital from N17.95 billion of 35, 895,292,792 ordinary shares to N22.43 billion.

The resolution said, “There shall be a capital raise. The capital raise transaction shall be by way rights issue, on such terms and conditions and on such dates as may be determined by the Directors, subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.”

In the notice filed with the NGX earlier in the week, FBN Holdings said its Stockbrokers, FBNQuest Securities, has been mandated to seek approval on behalf of the Holder.

Part of the notice said, “its stockbrokers, FBNQuest Securities Limited, submitted an application to Nigerian Exchange Limited for the approval and listing of a Rights Issue of Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Three Million, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety-Eight (8,973,823,198) ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N15.50 per Share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every four ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Monday, 9 October 2023.”

Meanwhile, stakeholders in the sector insist that the outcome of the court proceeding will determine what happens next in Nigeria’s premier commercial bank.