Newrest ASL moves to delist from Nigerian Stock Exchange -

Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc has through its Stockbroker, Helix Securities Limited, submitted an application to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (The Exchange) for voluntary delisting of the entire 634,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company from the Daily Official List of The Exchange.

This decision to delist from the NSE results from the inability of Newrest ASL Nigeria Plc (formerly Airline Services & Logistics Plc), to meet up with the 20percent free float requirement of The Exchange.

Companies listed on The Exchange are required to maintain a minimum free float for the set standards under which they are listed in order to ensure that there is an orderly and liquid market for their securities.

The free float requirement for companies on the ASEM Board is a minimum of 15percent of issued and fully paid up shares while that of the Main Board is a minimum of 20percent of the issued and fully paid up shares.

Companies listed on the Premium Board are also required to have a free float of a minimum of 20percent of issued and fully paid up shares or the value of its free float is equal to or above N40 billion on the date The Exchange receives the Issuer’s application to list.

In line with the provisions of Rule 1.10 of the Rules for Delisting of Equity Securities from the Daily Official List of The Exchange which states that: “The Issuer shall set aside funds sufficient to purchase the interest of all shareholders who expressed their dissent to the resolution to de-list the Issuer; and the Funds shall be domiciled with a Registrar or a Custodian duly registered by and in good standing with the Securities and Exchange Commission”, the Company’s stockbroker has informed The Exchange that it has opened and deposited sufficient funds to settle minority shareholders in an Escrow Account with Zenith Bank Plc to be managed by Meristem Registrars Limited.

IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.