NSE lists Axxela’s N11.5bn bonds

By Omobayo Azeez

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday listed N11.5 billion Series 1 bonds of Axxela Funding 1 Plc which comes at a fixed rate of 14.30 per cent and due 2027.

The listed bond is under the company’s N50 billion bond issuance programme. It has a volume of 11.5 million units and a value of 1,000 at N1,000 each and 14.3 per cent fixed coupon rate.

The issuance, which commenced on March 27 and closed on May 20, 2020 is due May 2027 with a tenor of seven years. Meanwhile, Afrinvest Securities Limited is the stockbroker that facilitated the listing.

Recall that FMDQ Group, through its subsidiary, FMDQ Security Exchange Limited had earlier admitted the same N11.50 billion Series 1 Bond on its platform on July 9, exactly a week ago.

The bourse explained that Axxela Funding 1 PLC is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated by Axxela Limited to raise funds through the issuance of debt securities in the domestic capital market.

Axxela Limited, owned by Helios Investment Partners, is a natural gas shipping company on the West African Gas Pipeline, providing unique energy solutions with presence in Nigeria and gas export operations in neighbouring West African countries.

“The admittance of the Axxela bond is testament to the opportunities which the Nigeria Debt Market Capital (DCM) avails to corporates in diverse business areas and further, to the potential of the market to support stakeholders effectively even as they carry on their activities in the face of the pandemic.

“The Axxela bond, by its listing on FMDQ, shall be admitted onto the FMDQ Daily Quotations List; thus, promoting the much-needed transparency for investors and providing a credible basis for portfolio valuation daily.

“Also, through the global visibility which the FMDQ website and systems guarantee, the corporate profile of the issuer is raised even further ahead of tapping into other opportunities in the Nigerian capital market,” FMDQ said in an earlier statement.