SEC grants approval for extension of Fidelity Bank public offer

The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC has granted approval for the extension of Fidelity Bank’s Public Offer and Right Issue by fourteen days.

The offer initially scheduled to close Monday July 29, 2024 will now close on Monday, 12 August 2024.

Also shareholders of the bank have unanimously approved the absorption of surplus monies arising from the potential oversubscription the Public Offer exercise.

These are some of the resolutions secured by the Bank’s Board of Directors at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held virtually yesterday.

Giving a background to the resolutions considered at the meeting, which had the representatives of various regulators in attendance, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Exchange Group and Securities and Exchange Commission, Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, said the bank is committed to meeting the new capital requirement stipulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria within the regulatory timelines for compliance.

He also stated: “The resolution proposed for shareholders’ approval at this EGM are to enable an increase in share capital from 22.6billion to 26.7billion by creating 8.2billion additional shares to accommodate potential oversubscription from the Public Offer and Rights Issue subject to regulatory approvals.

“The additional capital to be raised proposed resolution would also allow the bank take advantage of emerging opportunities and secure long-term profitability and competitive advantage while ensuring increased shareholder value. We have seen a lot of demand for our shares. We think this is the chance to take on additional capital while making it easier for us to execute stage two of our capital raising strategy. So, we think this is a good thing for us to do at this time”.