The management of Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc has convened an extraordinary general meeting of the insurance company to seek approval for immediate delisting of the company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The company had earlier secured a provisional approval from the Exchange to restructure.
In a notice sent by the company to the Nigerian Stock Exchange the extraordinary general meeting which is scheduled for next week Wednesday July 25th in Lagos and will “consider and approve the delisting of Great Nigeria Insurance Plc from the Nigerian Stock Exchange with immediate effect”.
The company has continued to struggle over the years to meet up with post-listing requirements at the NSE including failing to submit its operational reports as required and inability to meet the free float requirement.
Regulatory requirements of companies listed on the main board of the Exchange are required to have a minimum of 20 percent of their shares in the hand of retail minority shareholders, under a listing requirement known as free float. GNI, which is listed on the main board, only has a free float of 16 per cent. The company was recently given an extended deadline of May 18, 2020, to dilute its bloc shareholdings and free more shares for minority shares.
Recall that in 2016, the company sold a 75 percent majority equity stake to a consortium of investors known as Insurance Resourcery and Consultancy Services Limited (IRCSL). The deal was valued at N3.24 billion. A total of 2.87 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of GNI were crossed in a single deal to Insurance Resourcery at N1.13 per share through the negotiated cross deal window of the NSE.
Great Nigeria Insurance Plc commenced business in 1960 and following Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s directive that required banks to either divest from non-core banking subsidiaries or form holding company to hold those subsidiaries; Wema Bank divested transferring its 75% equity stake in GNI Plc to Insurance Resourcery and Consultancy Services Limited.
