Eko Corporation, the parent body of Eko Hospitals, may have a new dawn soon. Directors of the firm who have been in a decade old ownership tussle over disputed shares, may have settled the squabble.
The company in a release to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) notified the investing community that an Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) would be held on Thursday the 5th of July, 2018.
The EGM was subsequent to a Federal High Court judgment delivered on the 7th of May, 2018.
Agenda for the meeting are two special resolutions, which include:
Special resolution 1
- The sum of N43,824,331 being 75% of the debt owed to Dr. Sunday Kuku be converted to equity at N1 per share.
- The sum of N42,688,854 being 75% of the debt owed to Dr. Augustine Amechi Obiora be converted to equity at N1 per share.
- The sum of N27,735,542 shares being 75% of the debt owed Dr. Alexandra Eneli (deceased), now represented by Senator Mike Ajegbo, be converted to equity at N1 per share.
- The sum of N4,320,206 being 75% of the debt owed to Dr F.G.A Cole be converted to equity at N1 per share.
Special Resolution 2
The approval of the allotment of 110,000,000 shares (One hundred and ten million) ordinary shares to Geoff Ohen Limited via a Special Placement scheme as approved at the Completion Board meeting of 17th June, 2008.
Prior to the judgment
The EGM brings to an end a boardroom tussle that has lasted well over a decade, which Nairametrics covered extensively as a corporate story.
The debt owed the trio of Kuku, Obiora, and Eneli arose as a result of salary and emolument arrears when the hospital had financial challenges. 25 percent of the outstanding was to be paid in cash, and the rest converted to equity.
In a bid to raise capital as well as defray this debt, the company offered Geoff Ohen Limited 110 million units at N4 a share. The firm is an investment vehicle through which Geoff Ohen, a director maintains his holdings.
Ohen, however, reneged on the deal having acquired shares owned by GTBank and Secure Swaps. He accused the founders of mismanaging the hospital, and such should not benefit from the swap arrangement. He also stated that the debt was not included in the investment prospectus he was given.
Regarding the stealth acquisition of the shares, he maintained he was under no obligation to inform the directors, as the transaction was recorded by the company’s registrars.
About EKO Hospital
Ekocorp Plc started off as Mercy Specialist Hospital in 1977 and was incorporated on the 9th of February 1982 as a private limited company by shares. It became a Public Liability Company (Plc) in 1991 and by 1994, the name changed to Ekocorp Plc.
The EKO represents the first letter of the surname of each of the 3 founders Eneli, Kuku, and Obiora.
While the Elephants fought
The squabble by the directors led to the company’s inability to release its financial statements on time. Eko Corporation has consistently submitted its results late. Full-year 2017 financial statements were released in June, 2018.
The ownership tussle may have had an adverse effect on the hospital’s operations, as it wrote off close to N1 billion in bad debt last year.
Eko Hospital shares last traded at N3.47 on the NSE.
