Eaton Acquisitions Limited has acquired a 2.46% stake in underwriting firm NEM Insurance Plc. This amounted to 130 million shares that changed hands on Friday at N4.
This marks a 40.85% premium over the company’s closing share price of N2.95 on Friday’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The trade was negotiated between Stanbic IBTC stockbrokers, and TRW Stockbrokers, representing the seller and the buyer respectively.
Eaton has also signaled its intentions to further increase its stake to 10% and has had deliberations with NEM Insurance’s management.
“We intend to build a substantial stake in the company as our Board has approved the purchase of up to 10% of the company’s shares. We have had positive interactions with the management of NEM and look forward to supporting the company to continue achieving consistent stellar performance. ”
NEM has a total of 5.28 billion shares outstanding, that is shares that have already been issued.
NEM had been the subject of a tussle between several key investors. The company during its 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) obtained approval from shareholders to raise N2.64 billion through a private placement.
Another shareholders camp had, however, kicked against the move since the company was doing well and not cash-strapped in any way.
The company is currently trading at N2.98, up 4.56%. Year to date, the stock is up 82.27% and is the best performing insurance stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Results for the half year ended June 2018 show gross premium written increased from N8.1 billion in 2017 to N9.1 billion in 2018. Profit before tax increased from N1.4 billion in 2017 to N1.7 billion in 2018. Profit after tax also rose from N1.2 billion in 2017 to N1.5 billion in 2018.
