Unity Bank crashes after AMCON’s cross-deal ahead Court-Ordered Meeting

The shares of Unity Bank Plc reached a 52-week low of N1.5, losing 0.01kobo or 0.66 percent on Thursday.

This happened as the bank’s shares held by AMCON, representing 34 percent of the bank’s total shares, were crossed on the NGX trading floor to a preferred bidder.

Unity Bank has shares outstanding of 11,689,337,942 units.

Analysts believe that for the cross deal to happen, at least three things had to happen: “The bid was acceptable to AMCON; the sale of anything above 5 percent shares and above required the prior approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria; and the suspension of Unity Bank shares had to be lifted to facilitate this trade”.

The cross-deal on the NGX happened 24 hours ahead of their Court-Ordered Meeting to approve the scheme of merger.

Providus Bank is poised to assume the corporate identity of Unity Bank Plc, marking a major step in the proposed merger between the two institutions.

According to a court-ordered notice, Unity Bank shareholders will decide on September 26 whether to approve the scheme of merger. The outcome of Friday’s meeting will determine the fate of the lender.

If sanctioned, the transaction will see Unity Bank’s entire share capital cancelled, effectively dissolving the institution. This way, Providus Bank Limited’s certificate of incorporation will become that of the enlarged entity. The merger will combine the assets, liabilities, and undertakings of both banks into a single financial institution.

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with over 18 years journalism experience writing on banking, finance and capital markets. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos.
Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA).