Investors in Eko Hospital hoping for a final resolution of the decade-long tussle between the founders of EKO hospital and Geoffrey Ohen may have to wait awhile.
In a notice sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), yesterday, the company disclosed that an Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for Thursday, July 5, 2018, has been postponed.
The postponement was due to an appeal filed by Geoff Ohen Limited against the judgment of a Federal High Court as well as a stay of execution of the same judgment.
At the meeting that has now been postponed, the following resolutions were to be approved.
- The conversion of debt owed the founders and Dr. G.A. Cole into equity.
- The allotment of 110,000,000 (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.
Nairametrics had prior to this, covered the tussle in a corporate story series.
The debt owed the trio of Sunday Kuku, Augustine Obiora, and Alexander 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 as 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.
The tussle between the board members has taken a toll on the hospital’s operations. It recently had to write off close to a billion Naira of bad debt.
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.