NSE approves restructuring of UNIC Insurance

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has approved a restructuring plan for UNIC Insurance Plc, an insurance firm listed on the Exchange as a capital raising method for the company.

The approval which involves a merger and acquisition was given on the 10th March 2017, following the insurer’s proposal for restructuring.

According to the NSE, the restructuring involves a scheme of arrangement between UNIC Insurance Plc and Holders of Its Fully Paid Ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, in connection with the proposed restructuring under an Investment Holding Company.

Findings however revealed South Africa’s Liberty Holdings, as the investment holding company, set to acquire a 75 percent stake in UNIC Insurance Plc for 160 million Rands (about $12 million).

The revelation obtained through a report published in a national daily (not the Daily Times) stated that “Liberty has been expanding beyond its home base to other parts of Africa where demand is rising from a growing middle class.

This merger is however coming on the heels of a reported panic in the insurance industry over an upcoming verification of insurance companies’ capital by the regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

Further checks into UNIC Insurance showed that the company’s results last filed with the NSE is for its 2014 financial year.

The company which engages in Underwriting functions, Corporate Investment Advising, Fund/portfolio Managing had its certificate of registration cancelled and was also dubbed an inactive capital market operator by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as at November 2015.

The company has Market Cap of N1.3 billion and was last traded March 13th at its nominal value of 50 kobo per share.