Equity Market: Firm slams, sues First Bank of Nigeria over alleged depreciation in shares value

*Barbican Capital claims the firm cumulatively acquired about 5,386,397,202 shares, representing 15.1 percent of First Bank Nigeria Holdings’ overall shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, insisting its shares value in the bank’s latest ‘Unaudited Financial Statement’ contradicted the CSCS statement of May 2024, which indicated its shares ‘indeed appreciated to 5,386,397,202’, and not 3,110,400,619, representing 8.6 percent of the bank’s overall shares

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Following an alleged unexpected decrease in the size of its shareholding to 3,110,400,619, representing 8.6 percent of the bank’s overall shares, Barbican Capital Limited, an investment firm, has sued First Bank Nigeria Holdings (FBNH) in a Federal High Court in Lagos over the bank’s purported change of its initial 5.4 billion shares.

It was learnt Barbican Capital, in the Suit No. FHC/L/CS/ 1172/24, Bode Olanipekun, SAN, filed on the company’s behalf, claimed that over the years and at different times, it cumulatively acquired about 5,386,397,202 shares, representing 15.1 percent of FBNH overall shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The firms also noted that its shares purchases and dates of issue were accurately recorded by FBNH appointed Registrars, Meristem Registrars and Probate Service Limited.

Such transactions were further acknowledged in the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which contained its value of shares with the bank, the company claimed.

Barbican Capital equally said bank’s Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statement for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023, FBNH acknowledged its significant share value, which represented 13.61 percent of the bank’s total shares.

As a validation of its ownership claim, the Oba Otudeko’s owned Barbican stated that it received dividends payment from FBNH for all its 5,386,397,202 shares between November and December 2023 for the full year ended December 31, 2022.

On how Barbican Capital’s 5,386,397,202 shares decrease to 3,110,400,619 shares at FBNH?

Barbican Capital, however, claimed that it was taken aback May 2024, when FBNH said in its publication of ‘Substantial Interest in Shares’ that the company’s shares had been decreased in size to 3,110,400,619, representing 8.6 percent of the First Bank’s overall shares.

Insisting that it had never sold its shares to a third party, the firm criticized FBNH’s shares value in its ‘Unaudited Financial Statement for the year ended March 31, 2024,’ which it claimed contradicted the CSCS statement of May 2024, which indicated that its shares had indeed appreciated to 5,386,397,202, Vanguard report stated.

Barbican urges FBNH to correct ‘erroneous representation’ in shareholding

Barbican Capital as well stated that it tried to draw FBNH’s notice to the deliberate change of its shares, but that First Bank rather sought to shift the erroneous representation to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to report.

Part of the reliefs the plaintiff (Barbican Capital) sought include a declaration, that it is a member of the defendant company by virtue of its shareholding in the defendant and a further declaration, “that the number of shares contained/entered in defendant‘s register of members/records of members relating to the plaintiff, is representative of the number of shares held by the plaintiff in the defendant.”

Other reliefs include “a declaration, that the plaintiff’s shareholding in the defendant stands at 5,386,397,202 (as of July 1, 2024) reflected in the dematerialised records of the CSCS.

“A declaration, that the plaintiff is entitled to all the benefits of membership in respect all shares recorded as owned by it in the defendant company as reflected in the dematerialised records of the CSCS.

“A declaration, that all the shares held by the plaintiff in the defendant are the plaintiff’s personal property, with all rights and privileges appertaining. thereto.”

The firm also sought “a declaration, that the plaintiff’s shareholding in the defendant cannot be altered, dissipated, reduced, diminished, or erroneously stated in a manner inconsistent with the plaintiff’s right to own property.

“A declaration that the defendant lacks the vires to erroneously state the shareholding of the plaintiff in any way or manner or vide any outlet or deal with the said shareholding and rights appertaining thereto, different from the actual number of shares held by the plaintiff.

“An Order of perpetual injunction, restraining the defendant, whether by itself, its officers, agents, servants, assigns, privies or anyone acting on its behalf, from altering or continuing to alter, erroneously stating or continuing to erroneously state, dissipating or continuing to dissipate, reducing or continuing to reduce, diminishing or continuing to diminish the plaintiff’s shareholding in the defendant. “

At the suit’s final hearing July 19 this year before Justice A. O. Faji, FBN Attorney Buchi Obulue moved an application to join the CBN in the suit.

The court granted the application, which was not disputed by the plaintiff’s lawyer, and the case was adjourned to October 2, 2024, for the hearing of the originating summons, according to report.

In a related development, the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc has asked a Federal High Court sitting, in Lagos, to dismiss an earlier lawsuit by Barbican Capital Limited, an investment company, over an alleged change in its claimed 5,386,397,202 shares in the bank.

The commecial bank stated that the defendant (Barbican Capital) has “failed, refused and/or neglected” to provide relevant documents to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to prove its claimed shareholding value in the financial institution till date.

Kindly Share This Story