The shareholders of Ardova Plc will receive N17.88 per share as a consideration for the share transfer scheme following the planned acquisition of their shares by Ignite Investments & Commodities Limited.
The transfer scheme is subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Court approval.
This was part of the resolutions passed at the Court Ordered Meeting of the Company held recently in Lagos.
Each scheme shareholder of the company, subject to the sanction of the Court and delivery of the sanction for registration at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), shall receive N17.88kobo per Scheme share held by such Scheme shareholder.
Upon the Effective Date of the Scheme, Scheme shareholders of the Company will be able to realise their holdings in the Company at 28per cent premium to the Company’s share price of N13.90 on November 30, 2022, being the last traded price prior to the offer.
According to the proposed Scheme presented to shareholders, the transaction provides an avenue for the core shareholder to support the Company in raising the required capital to expand its business operations in order to improve profitability.
The Chairman for the meeting, Mrs. Aniola Durosinmi-Etti, stated that, “In recent years, the macro-economic environment in Nigeria had been particularly difficult on the general operations of businesses in the country”.
She added that “over the past five years, the Company has recorded declining margins despite growth in its top-line”. She noted that operating costs had impacted the Company’s ability to pay decent returns as evidenced by its dividend payout history in the last five years.
She expressed that the management is committed to the long-term survival of the oldest and leading indigenous energy group in Nigeria.
The petroleum marketing company is set to delist from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) if the planned acquisition of shares held by other shareholders by Ignite Investments & Commodities Limited seals through.
Ardova in a statement had notified NGX that Ignite Investments & Commodities Limited has approached the Board of Directors of the company to acquire the shares held by other shareholders of the company at an offer price of N17.38 per share, and subsequently delist the company from NGX.
The statement noted that the offer price of N17.38 represents a premium of 22.44per cent and 24.38per cent to the 30-day and 60-day volume weighted average share price of N14.19 and N13.97 respectively, on November 30, 2022 (being the last trading day before the offer).
