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The shareholders of Ashaka Cement Plc (AshakaCem) at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held Monday December 19, 2016 approved the voluntary delisting of the Company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as earlier recommended by the directors.
The Board of AshakaCem approved the initiation of the process for the voluntary delisting of AshakaCem in accordance with the rules of the NSE on November 16, 2016.
Through the voluntary delisting process, the Company will be providing an exit opportunity to minority shareholders who do not wish to remain in an unlisted company.
The shareholders of AshakaCem may exit the Company prior to the Delisting by: trading their shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange through their nominated Stockbroker; receiving consideration from Lafarge Africa Plc in exchange for transferring their shares.
The terms stated are: 57 new Lafarge Africa shares for 202 AshakaCem shares held as at the date of the Special Resolution approving the Voluntary Delisting; and a cash consideration of N2 per share will be paid to every shareholder exchanging their AshakaCem shares for Lafarge Africa shares.
The shareholders of AshakaCem may elect to accept the exit consideration between December 19, 2017 and March 17, 2017.
AshakaCem Plc is a cement manufacturing and marketing company incorporated in August 1974 and commenced production in September 1979 under the name Ashaka Cement Company Limited. The issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital of the Company is N1.119billion comprising of 2,239,453,125 shares.
The company noted in a public notice that over the last 5 years, there is little or no trading activity with only 0.20% of the shares held by the minority shareholders being traded. “There has also been a measurable fall in trading volumes over the last twelve (12) months from 200,090 units in 2015 to 77,810 units in the same period in 2016.”
“Neither the Company nor any shareholder is benefiting from the continued listing as shareholders are not getting any exit opportunity and their investments have been locked up and they find it difficult to dispose of their shareholding. Moreover, the Company is bearing unnecessary cost in complying with its listing obligations,” it further stated.
Through the voluntary delisting of AshakaCem, the Directors of the Company will be exercising a regulatory provision that will shield the Company from any enforcement action that the Exchange may effect, for example by way of a regulatory delisting in light of the outstanding Free Float deficiency.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
