Bank opens private shares placement today
THE Private Placement Programme of Fidelity Bank Plc formally opens today. The move for the bank's largest expansion of capital since its inception 17 years ago comes after it got all the required regulatory approvals.
"Through a combination of rights issue to existing shareholders and private placement of the bank's shares with selected individuals and institutional investors, Fidelity seeks to move her shareholders' funds from the current N3.5 billion to N10 billion by December, 2004," it said in statement last night.
The bank's management have spent the last eight weeks consulting with their various constituencies nationwide, climaxing a major public outing called "the Unveiling of the Fedelity Bank Treasure" in Lagos in October and another one last week in Abuja.
At the Board Meeting for the Rights Issue and Private Placement of its shares on Monday last week, the bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, disclosed that at N1.25k per 50k share, there is hardly any one that equates Fidelity's in value. Fidelity Bank's Price Earning (P.E.) ratio is 4.2, meaning that it takes an investor an average of four years to recoup his investment in it. The average P.E. ratio in the industry is about eight (8).
According to him, Fidelity's shares offer is attractive considering that the bank will soon be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Approval for the listing of its shares was given by the bank's shareholder at its 16th Yearly General Meeting held two weeks ago in Lagos.
It was also recently announced as one of the 23 banks approved by the Nigeria Customs Service for the collection of Duties in the country.
Asked why Fidelity Bank Plc is selling at N1.25k, Ihejiahi said that the pricing was to enable the investors experience an immediate capital appreciation.
