UPDC N15.96bn Rights Issue commences  

The UACN Property Development Company Plc – (UPDC) Rights Issue of N15.96billion has commenced. Acceptance for the Rights Issue which opened on Monday February 10, 2020 closes on Friday March 13, 2020. UPDC is currently offering existing shareholders 15,961,574,145 units at N1 per share.

This is on the basis of 43 new ordinary shares for every 7 ordinary shares held by the company shareholders as at September 30, 2019. This is according to the revised terms of the Rights Issue as stated in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Meanwhile, the domestic bourse ended Thursday session in the red as sell off in MTNN (-3.33percent) ensured a bearish performance. GTBank (+6.38percent) led the advancers. The index declined marginally by 5bps while closing the day at 27,864.84bps. Investors lost N7.08billion while the NSE All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 0.05percent. The market’s Year-to-Date (YtD) returns currently stands at +3.81percent. Thirteen (13) stocks gained as against 15 losers.

Last year, the Board of Directors of UAC of Nigeria Plc (UAC) and UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) informed the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), their shareholders and stakeholders that they were considering strategic initiatives involving a recapitalisation and restructuring of UPDC.

The strategic initiatives which include a recapitalisation and restructuring of UPDC ownership structure reorganisation involves UPDC’s interest in UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDC REIT) being unbundled to UPDC shareholders via the allocation of REIT units directly to shareholders of UPDC in proportion to their post-Rights Issue holdings in UPDC (UPDC Unbundling).

Recall that in a Monday September 2, 2019 note released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and signed by Godwin Samuel, UAC Company Secretary and Folake Kalaro, UPDC Company Secretary, the equity capital raise of N15.96billion by way of a Rights Issue is to repay its short term debt obligations. The Board of Directors believed that for UPDC to attain sustainability, the focus is on reducing outstanding debt to a level at which it is serviceable from reoccurring cash flows.