• 28.79b shares swapped • Holdco takes off with commercial, non-interest banks
Sterling Bank Plc yesterday transited from its standalone commercial bank status to a holding company with the swapping and re-listing of the entire paid up share capital of Sterling Bank Plc as Sterling Financial Holdings Company (Sterling HoldCo) Plc.
The entire 28.79 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of Sterling Bank were delisted from the Daily Official List of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) while Sterling HoldCo was listed with the same entire issued share capital of 28.79 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, at a price of N1.60 per share.
The delisting of Sterling Bank and listing of Sterling HoldCo on NGX was pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement between Sterling Bank Plc and the holders of its fully paid ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each as approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and sanctioned by the Court.
The listing marked the end of the restructuring process and paved the way for the resume of trading on the new holdco.
Sterling Holdco is a non-operating financial holding company and will enable the group to continue to diversify its investment portfolio and expand its presence in the financial markets.
Upon the completion of the transition, the Sterling Holdco will commence operations with two banking subsidiaries; Sterling Bank, which will operate as a conventional commercial bank; and The Alternative Bank Limited, which will operate as a non-interest bank.
Chairman, Sterling Bank, Asue Ighodalo said the aim was to continue to provide the best services and product offerings to the bank’s customer, while continuing to create and deliver even more sustainable value for our shareholders.
He noted that in recent times, Sterling has become renowned for its HEART of Sterling strategy, which focuses major investments in the health, education, agriculture, renewable energy and transportation sectors of the economy.
He added that the bank’s progressive and youth-focused brand, which is a leading light in the financial services category, its award-winning talent recruitment and retention services as evidenced by the Best Place To Work In Nigeria record of victories, as well its recent successes in developing and shipping innovative products such as Specta, OneBank, i-Invest, Omni X, and Imperium in fulfilment of the needs of the Nigerian market are all indicators of the success of the bank’s business model.