The UACN Property Development Company Plc’s N16,799,893,000 commercial paper has been admitted for quotation on the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
This is happening after the UPDC successfully met the requirements as contained in the FMDQ Commercial Paper Quotation Rules, and subsequent to the approval of the FMDQ Board Listings, Markets and Technology Committee.
Coronation Merchant Bank Limited (formerly Associated Discount House Limited) completed the issuance of the CP for the UACN Property Development Company Plc. A statement by the lender said the transaction was oversubscribed by 67.9 per cent.
The feat, FMDQ provided by the parties, was another notable stride in the FMDQ’s drive to create a vibrant and successful CP market, as the UPDC CP became the fifth CP admitted for quotation following the release of the rules.
This CP represents series 1 under the organisation’s 24,000,000,000 CP Issuance Programme.
In commemoration of this quotation, a quotation ceremony was held at the FMDQ office to formally welcome the CP on the Exchange.
Amongst the attendees at the ceremony were the Managing Director, UPDC Plc, Mr. Hakeem Ogunniran, representing the issuer of the CP; the Chairman and Director, FBN Capital Limited, Mr. Kayode Akinkugbe, and the Managing Director/CEO, Coronation Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Abubakar Jimoh, represented by Mr. Aigbovbioise Aig-Imoukhuede, Executive Director, Coronation Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, both FMDQ Registration Members (Quotations) and co-sponsors of the issue on the platform.
In his remark, the Managing Director/CEO, FMDQ, Mr. Bola Onadele, congratulated the UPDC and stressed that the quotation of the CP was an evidence of the positive progression in the Nigerian CP market, serving to instill confidence in the possibilities of the Nigerian financial market.
Ahead of the signing of the FMDQ CP Quotations Register and the presentation of the FMDQ CP Quotations Certificate, Ogunniran, in his address, acknowledged that the CP issuance had afforded the UPDC a better opportunity to successfully diversify its short-term funding sources at a 25 per cent reduced cost, thereby enhancing their value-creating capability for the UPDC’s various stakeholders.
Akinkugbe, who also spoke at the ceremony, noted, “The remarkable success of the UPDC commercial paper issuance is an affirmation of the growth of the CP market in recent years.”
“We are indeed pleased to have partnered the UPDC in establishing its inaugural CP programme and achieving the significant oversubscription recorded at its debut launch.”
In the same vein, Jimoh said, “Coronation Merchant Bank is happy to be part of this landmark and novel transaction.”
“We successfully offered our superior transaction structuring capabilities to the UPDC by jointly providing a liquidity back-stop facility to enhance the commercial paper offering alongside the partial corporate guarantee provided by the UAC of Nigeria Plc, (UPDC’s parent company).”
The deal, according to Coronation Merchant Bank, amounted to N6.79bn over the sum of N10bn initially targeted by the issuer – the UPDC.
The lender, in a statement, added, “In executing this landmark transaction, Coronation Merchant Bank acted as joint lead arranger, dealer, issuing, calculating and paying agent, having structured, marketed, distributed and facilitated the FMDQ listing of the commercial paper.
“As a wholesale financial institution with the capacity to provide innovative financial solutions and lend its robust distribution platform to its clients, this transaction has again affirmed Coronation Merchant Bank’s status as the go-to institution for investment banking services,” the statement read.
