SEC Extends Unity Bank’s Rights Issues Offering

Unity Bank Plc says it has secured an approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to extend its rights issues offering by two weeks.

The bank said in a statement in Lagos on Wednesday that the closing date for the offering would now be Tuesday, July 27.

Reports say that the bank had on June 4 offered 23.93 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N1.00 per share to shareholders and was to close on July 13.

The bank said that the right issue would be allotted on the basis of three new shares for every two ordinary shares held by shareholders as at April 27, 2010.

The statement advised shareholders who had applied to contact Diamond Registrars Ltd, registrars to the offering.

It also advised shareholders to take advantage of the extension to take up the offering.

It would be recalled that the bank’s chairman, Prof. Akinlawon Mabogunje, had at the completion board meeting of the offering in Abuja explained that the offering was aimed at reducing public sector holding in the bank.

He said the bank, through the offering, would be raising N24 billion which would help it exceed the current 10 per cent capital adequacy ratio required by the CBN.