GTB in N6.18b Off-market Shares Deal

• GTB in N6.18b Off-market Shares Deal

Five deals were struck for the transfer of about one per cent equity stake in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc in an off-market deal valued at about N6.18 billion. GTBank is Nigeria’s largest financial services institution and the third largest quoted company in Nigeria.

Transaction report indicated that about 193.06 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each of GTBank were traded in five cross deals at N32 per share. The deals were consummated through the negotiated cross deals window of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The transaction price of N32 represented a discount of about 7.78 per cent from the bank’s closing share price of N34.70 per share at the consummation of the deals.

The transaction volume represented to 0.66 per cent of GTBank’s outstanding shares of 29.43 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

As an off-market, negotiated cross deal, it means that the deal was not subjected to the dynamics of price discovery for the particular period. Off-market trade implied that the deal was sealed outside the floor of the NSE.

The negotiated cross deal platform of the Exchange is a special-purpose trading platform that is meant for voluminous transaction. By the cross deal, it implies that the buyer and the seller had been prearranged and the transfer at the stock market was a mere perfection of the agreement between the two. The negotiated cross deal allows the parties to the deal to close the deal at reduced cost.

GTBank recorded steady growths in the top-line and bottom-line in the first half of this year with profit before tax rising to N109.6 billion within the period. The bank paid N8.83 billion as interim dividend for the first half of 2018, representing a dividend per share of 30 kobo.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of GTB for the six-month period ended June 30, 2018 showed that gross earnings rose by 5.9 per cent to N226.6billion in first half 2018 as against N214.1billion reported in comparable period of 2017. Profit before tax stood also rose by 8.4 per cent from N101.1 billion to N109.6 billion.

The balance sheet showed that customers’ deposit grew by 10 per cent N2.269 trillion by June 2018 as against N2.062 trillion recorded at the beginning of the year. Total assets rose by 5.9 per cent to N3.549 trillion in June 2018 while shareholders funds stood at N497.1Billion. Assets quality improved as non-performing loan ratio improved to 5.8 per cent by June 2018 from 7.7 per cent in December 2017.