By Moses Ebosele, ebosele@hotmail.com –
After several months of rigorous steps, the management of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday officially welcomed Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCOL) to its Main Board.
Tuesday’s listing by Initial Public Offering of 1,353,580,000 ordinary shares of SAHCOL at a Listing Price of N4.65 per share, is a result of several months of hard work by all parties to the transaction.
The parties are: The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and The Exchange.
Addressing stakeholders during the ‘Facts Behind the Listing of SAHCO’, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Oscar Onyema explained that the listing has added N6.29Billion to the market capitalization of The Exchange, further deepening the Nigerian Capital Market.
Explaining further, Onyema, who was represented by the NSE Executive Director (Regulation) Tinuade Awe said the listing will also “increase the visibility of SAHCO Plc whilst solidifying its brand as a major player in the Aviation sector”.
In his submission, the Managing Director of SAHCO, Mr Basil Agboarumi, explained that the listing will give Nigerians the opportunity to participate in the company’s growth story, adding “The listing will also improve the liquidity and tradability of the company’s shares, increase the company’s visibility and credibility in the Nigerian market and beyond.”
He added: “This is in partial compliance (as approved by the BPE) with the share sale and purchase agreement executed in respect of the Federal Government’s divestment of 100 per cent equity stake in the erstwhile Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited”.
Agboarumi said the key investment highlights that would attract investors were the company’s sound business model and scalable franchise; strong brand name and reputation; best-in-class facilities; and experienced management team with deep expertise and competence.
He stated that the future strategy of the company to grow was to expand service offerings, enter into strategic alliances and partnerships, increase customer lifetime value, develop the skills of employees and manage cost.
The NSE boss said:“Following the Federal Government’s decision to identify key state-owned enterprises from which to extract value and open to private sector expertise, SAHCOL was 100% privatized by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and transferred to the Sifax Group in 2009. Ten (10) years on, the company has become an important success story of the Federal Government’s privatization drive.
“Today’s listing is a promising development in the country, being that SAHCOL is the first company under the BPE privatization programme to successfully finalize an Initial Public Offering and list its shares on a securities exchange. It serves as an example to other similarly situated companies. And, we encourage more of these companies to explore the different opportunities in the capital markets for raising long term capital.
“We believe that increased participation of indigenous companies in the capital markets will increase investors’ confidence (both local and international) and entrench good corporate governance, transparency and sustainability.
“We are particularly pleased that SAHCOL has taken this strategic step to join the Main Board of The Exchange and in so doing, the prestigious club of quoted companies in Nigeria. This step reflects the Company’s belief that our platform remains a veritable avenue for raising capital and enabling sustainable national growth. I commend SAHCOL for this bold and strategic step.
“This listing shows the confidence SAHCO has in our platform, which has a total market capitalization of N21.5Tr across various asset classes”.
