AMCON sells 46.06m Unity Bank shares, says reports
A block of Unity Bank shares previously held by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) exchanged hands on Thursday, , through a cross deal on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
According to a tweet from Proshare (via @TheAnalystNG), 46,063,653 Unity Bank shares were traded at N1.66 per share.
WESTERNPOST gathered that over 4 billion shares, representing AMCON’s entire 34 per cent stake, had been sold to Providus Bank.
However, senior sources at Providus Bank have since confirmed to Nairametrics that they were not the acquirer of the traded shares.
In fact, a review of NGX trading records shows that only 8,978 shares were officially recorded as traded on September 25, raising further questions about the nature of the cross deal and the identity of the actual buyer.
The share sale comes on the eve of Unity Bank’s court‑ordered shareholder meeting on September 26, where investors will vote on whether to accept N3.18 per share in cash or an exchange ratio (17 Unity shares for 18 in Providus) under the proposed merger.
Court orders from Justice D.I. Dipeolu authorize Unity’s board to implement adjustments required by the SEC, CBN, or court, and to seek final judicial approval post-vote.
If passed, the plan transfers all Unity’s assets, liabilities, licenses, and legal engagements to Providus, effectively dissolving Unity Bank as a standalone entity.
Before the recent trade, AMCON was Unity Bank’s largest shareholder, holding 4,000,612,763 shares (34.22%).
Other major shareholders included PanAfrican Capital Nominee Ltd (12.67 per cent), Lighthouse Capital Ltd (9.01 per cent), Ibad Ltd (6.14 per cent), and El‑Amin (Nig.) Ltd (5.27 per cent).
The remainder, 32.69, per cent was dispersed among other investors.
With AMCON’s exit or partial exit, the bank’s ownership profile is poised for change, just as its future is set to be determined at the meeting.
Unity Bank, suspended from trading since May 2024, reported unaudited assets of N414 billion and deposits of N402 billion in 2024. Its last traded share price was N1.51, making the N3.18 offer a generous premium.
Providus Bank, in contrast, has grown to N2.56 trillion in assets and N1.5 trillion in deposits.
Profits after tax in 2024 were N33 billion, down from N43.5 billion in 2023.
The merger has been supported by a N700 billion bailout package from the CBN, which approved the plan in August 2024. While the share sale is real, its ultimate buyer is not Providus, contradicting our earlier report. The true acquirer remains undisclosed; however, sources suggest the buyer was an entity with a first right of refusal.
