By Charles Abuede
Nova Merchant Bank has successfully reported the listing of its NOVAMBL Investments SPV Plc N10 billion Series I, 7-year subordinate unsecured fixed-rate bond on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) at 12 per cent due 2027, under the company’s N50 billion bond issuance programme.
The listing rounds the total financing facilitated by the NGX to over N4.6 trillion across various asset classes by governments and corporates in terms of capital formation.
According to the disclosure made by the wholesale bank, the bond was oversubscribed by over 300 per cent and it indicates the level of investor confidence in its reputation, brand and corporate performance.
Nath Ude, the managing director and chief executive officer, Nova Merchant Bank Plc, while speaking at the ceremony, said: “I must commend the board and management of Nova for this significant milestone. We did not only enjoy an oversubscription of 300 per cent on our bond, we have also become the youngest merchant bank to issue a bond in Nigeria. We are very proud of what we have achieved and we believe it represents a vote of confidence by the investment community. The gratitude goes to our stakeholders who invested in this bond despite economic hardships. With this bond, we are well-positioned to provide long term funding, especially to the real sector, and we will continue to align with NGX to drive the economy through targeted investment opportunities as an organisation offering an integrated suite of financial solutions.”
Also speaking on the successful listing of the N10 billion NOVAMBL bond, Olumide Bolumole, the divisional head, listings business, NGX Limited, said: “We are delighted to commemorate the listing of Nova Merchant Bank’s debut listing of its N10 billion bond which was oversubscribed by 300 per cent. The success of the bond is an indication of the level of investor confidence in the company’s reputation, brand and corporate performance. It is our delight to see issuers such as Nova Merchant Bank take full advantage of the NGX’s products and services to support their growth story, and we encourage capital market players to explore other capital raising tools available on NGX to enhance their corporate profile, visibility and sustainability.
Peter Ashade, group chief executive Officer, United Capital Plc, the lead financial adviser/issuing house to the bond, while expressing his gratitude to the board and management of Nova Merchant Bank for the opportunity to serve, also thanked the regulators, particularly the NGX, the joint issuing houses, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Union Capital Markets Limited, and members of the investing public.
