Breaking news this morning has it that Stanbic IBTC Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has obtained permission to cease operation as a venture capital manager.
A corporate disclosure issued today to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) stated that an application had been made to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the company, a request to which SEC granted no objection.
The document went on to clearly state that the company’s decision to surrender its venture capital manager license was completely voluntary
Furthermore, Stanbic IBTC Ventures allayed people’s fears over the possible implications of this announcement, stating that the move will neither hurt the company’s clients nor the company itself.
“We also would like to state that SIVL does not have any Venture Capital obligations with any of its clients and the surrender of its licence would not impact negatively on the Stanbic IBTC Group as SIVL will still continue to operate as a going concern.” -Stanbic IBTC Ventures
Note that it is unclear how exactly the company intends to “continue to operate as a going concern”, considering the surrendering of its license as a venture capital manager. Perhaps, some internal readjustments are taking place to refocus its business model.
Stanbic IBTC Ventures Limited is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, which prior to this announcement was into the management of venture capital funds for different companies requiring financing either by way of debt or equity.
The parent company, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc was incorporated in 1989 to offer integrated financial services. It is based in Lagos Nigeria and has nearly ten subsidiaries; including Stanbic IBTC Bank which was recently fined N1.88 billion by Nigeria’s CBN over an illegality involving MTN and three other banks.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc’s shares are currently trading at N45.00 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
