At the conclusion of yesterday’s trading on the stocks market of the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX), shares of TransNational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), which had been declining for days, closed higher.
The stock’s price increased by 9.5% from yesterday’s opening price of N1.88 kobo to the closing price of N1.96 kobo.
Remember that the stock headed the losers’ chart at the conclusion of last week’s trading, falling 30.96% to settle at N1.94 kobo from N2.81 kobo, where it had been listed when trading began on Tuesday.
However, media reports on what led billionaire businessman Femi Otedola to purchase around 6% of Transcorp’s shares and why he decided to sell them soon after may be to blame for the abrupt increase in share price.
“As a businessman, I believe in healthy competition and market dynamics. Two captains cannot man a ship, and I respect the majority shareholder’s decision to buy me out. This is the nature of the game.”
“But let me be clear: my offer was made with the best intentions for Transcorp Plc and its shareholders. I saw an opportunity to unlock the company’s full potential and create value for everyone involved, Otedola said in a statement said to have been released by him.”
Both men have not spoken to one another directly or made any public statements since the ‘power play’ started last month. Instead, they interacted through proxies.
Market participants responded to the announcement by pointing out that Transcorp’s struggle is a sign that the company is now fundamentally sound and has highly promising development possibilities.
No matter which way the power struggle is moving, in their view, operators and shareholders can only cooperate with corporate disclosures from the corporation.
They also thought that Otedola’s explanation of his motives, his previous shady business dealings with Tony, and his references to the lack of confidence in Transcorp’s leadership are unimportant issues.
As investors continued to look for deals in the market, transactions on the NGX closed higher yesterday by N14 billion.
The All Share Index (ASI) increased by 25.89 points, or 0.05%, to finish the day at 52,605.41 points. Additionally, the market cap increased by N14 billion to settle at N28.644 trillion.
Gains in medium- and large-capitalized stocks, including Conoil, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Chemical & Allied Products (CAP), Champion Breweries, and United Capital, had an impact on the upturn.
Market sentiment was upbeat as evidenced by the market’s breadth, which showed that 32 equities gained opposed to 19 losses. Conoil experienced the largest price increase, rising 10% to close at N48.40 kobo.
Following closely behind, Multiverse Mining and Exploration increased by 9.97% to close at N3.75, while John Holt increased by 9.77% to close at N1.91 kobo.
CWG increased by 9.66% to close at N1.59, and Transcorp increased by 9.50% to finish at N1.96 kobo.
Unity Bank, on the other hand, finished at 49 kobo per share to lead the losers’ list by 9.26%. Cutix fell by 8.8 percent to settle at N2.28 kobo, while Japaul Gold and Ventures fell by 8.82 percent to close at 31 kobo.
Nigerian Breweries lost 8.29% of its value to end the day at N32.1 while Academy Press lost 5.71% to end the day at N1.65 kobo.
There were 5,884 transactions totaling 640.969 million units worth N7.133 billion, representing a 25.34 percent increase in the total volume transacted.
With 129.729 million shares changing hands for a total value of N1.482 billion, Access Holdings share transactions topped the list of activity. FBN Holdings (FBNH) traded 80.973 million shares for N969.538 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 91.113 million shares worth N728.472 million.
NEM Insurance sold 33.644 million shares for N153.08 million and Zenith Bank sold 42.751 million shares at N1.045 billion.
