Business
NSE Probes Sale Of 12.5bn Shares Of Transcorp
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has invited all parties involved in the alleged acquisition of 12.5 billion shares of Transcorp by Hiers Holding Ltd.
Our correspondent learnt that the meeting scheduled for Monday, April 11, was due to protest by Transcorp Plc over alleged breach of procedures in the sale of its shares.
It was gathered that the parties invited are Management of Transcorp Plc, Hiers Holding Ltd., as well as two brokers, HH Capital Ltd and BGL Securities Ltd.
Board and Management of Transcorp, had on April 1, through a letter, protested to NSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the manner the shares were sold at the open market.
The meeting, it was learnt, will be moderated by Mr Oscar Onyema, the new Director General of NSE.
NSE spokesman, Mr Wole Tokede, assured investing public of NSE’s commitment to resolving the issues.
Tokede said the meeting was part of the desire of NSE “to forge a free market bound by rules and best practices”.
“In part fulfillment of NSE’s responsibility to provide clarity on issues affecting the market, we wish to confirm that we have received formal letters from Transcorp Nigeria Plc with regards to the purchase of its shares on April 1.
“The Exchange respects the right of investors in the market to enter into commercial transactions as they deem fit and within the rules and ethics of the bourse,” Tokode said in statement.
Tokode said that on March 31, HH Capital Ltd., had through their brokers, BGL Securities Ltd., informed the bourse of the desire to cross 1.9 billion units of shares from willing sellers.
According to him, in the course of the review of the transaction, NSE realised that one of the willing sellers was legally not in position to engage in such a transaction and this was immediately cancelled.
He said that apart from the cancellation, the Exchange had since informed Transcorp Plc of the details of the transaction.
On March 31, 2011, a total of 2.51 billion units of Transcorp Plc shares, representing 10 per cent of the company’s issued share capital, were traded in a single day.
The transaction represented the largest volume of a company’s shares traded in one day in the past one year.