The Board of Linkage Assurance Plc has proposed a final dividend of N500 million and a bonus issue to existing shareholders of the company for the period ended 31st December 2020.

The company’s Board made this announcement in a notification published on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX), stating that a dividend of 5 kobo per share will be paid on all the issued 9,999,999,994 ordinary shares of the company.

In addition to the payment of the cash dividend of 5 kobo per share, shareholders will also be issued a bonus of 2 (two) new shares for every 5 (five) existing shares held in the company, amounting to N2 billion.

READ: Linkage Assurance set to raise capital to N15 billion  

Qualifying conditions

The following conditions must be met by shareholders, to benefit from the recent bonus issue and dividend:

• Only shareholders, whose names appear in the Register of Members at the close of business on the 30th of April, 2021 will be considered.
• Shareholders must have completed the e-dividend registration and must have mandated the Registrar (Centurion Registrars) to pay their dividends directly into their bank accounts.
• For the purpose of the dividend payment, the Register of Shareholders will be closed from 3rd to 10th of May, 2021.

Sequel to the aforementioned points, the dividend will be electronically paid to qualified shareholders on the 26th of May, 2021.

READ: UBA proposes N11.97 billion as final dividend for shareholders in 2020

What you should know

• Linkage Assurance Plc had earlier declared a profit after tax of N2.4 billion in FY 2020, and consequently proposed a final dividend of 5 kobo per share.
• It is pertinent to note that the firm did not declare any cash dividend last year. However, it announced a bonus issue of 1 (one) share for every 4 (four) shares held by existing shareholders, amounting to N1 billion in the same period.
• Therefore, the recent bonus issue is 50% higher than what was declared in the preceding year.
• Linkage Assurance shares is currently trading at 80 kobo at the time of writing this report.

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According to a memo published today, Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender, has agreed to buy a majority stake in African Banking Corporation of Botswana for cash, only a month after buying a South African bank.

Stagflation and dollar shortages in Nigeria have frustrated industries and shrunk the lending sector, prompting Access Bank to extend across the African continent. Atlas Mara said in a statement on Monday that the Nigerian bank would buy just over 78% of BancABC Botswana for an undisclosed cash amount of about 1.13 times the book value plus a two-year deferred payment.

Access Bank now has a presence in ten African countries thanks to the agreement with ABC Holdings, a local subsidiary of Atlas Mara, a London-listed company. It should be completed by the end of the second quarter.

Herbert Wigwe, the Chief Executive Officer of Access Group, told the public that the company is focused on growth. “We remain committed to a focused and deliberate expansion strategy in Africa, which we believe will generate solid, long-term returns,” the bank said.

According to Access Bank, BancABC is Botswana’s fifth-largest bank, with a strong retail loan portfolio and plans to expand into corporate and small-to-medium-sized business lending. Nigerian lenders have been looking for new ways to increase profits in the face of slowing domestic inflation, falling government bond yields, and an increase in restructured loans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, Access Bank paid $60 million for a majority stake in South Africa’s Grobank, making it the first Nigerian bank to enter the country. It has also recently signed agreements in Zambia and Mozambique. Access Bank is restructuring into a holding firm to drive its international growth with more than $16 billion in reserves and an emphasis on corporate and retail banking.