Jennifer Ugwueke
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTB) has received the nod of shareholders to transform to a holding company.
GTB disclosed in a statement on Sunday titled, ‘Shareholders Approve GTBank’s Planned Holdco Structure’ that a Court-ordered meeting on Friday saw shareholders approve the transfer of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each in the issued and paid-up share capital of the bank held by them to Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc.
The approval was given in exchange for the allotment of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to the shareholders in the same quantity to their shareholding in the bank credited as fully paid without any further act or deed.
The transformation will enable the assets and shares of GTB and all its subsidiaries to be managed by a parent company called a holding company, which will perform oversight functions on the companies under it and oversee their management decisions.
GTB will join the likes of FBN Holding Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, who have adopted the structure, while Access Bank is also in the process of towing the path.
The shareholders were satisfied with the arrangement because it was done without difficulties that often come from share reconstruction, said Sunny Nwosu, founder Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria.
“We are excited about the development because we are going to get value as everything we have would be transferred to the holding company.
“There will be no manipulation as a result of reconstruction that usually leads to fractional shares,” he said.
Boniface Okezie, President Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria asserted that “the arrangement where all existing shares of the bank would be transferred entirely to the holdco in the name of the beneficial owners is good, while the same number of units and percentage would be held in the new entity, is commendable.”
GTB had in its note to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 4th November informed the bourse and the general public that the Central Bank of Nigeria had given the bank the go ahead to proceed with the restructuring.
