By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

…Say mergers have never benefited shareholders
Over 20,000 shareholders of Linkage Assurance Plc have warned the Board and Management of the company to discontinue any merger plan with Cornerstone Insurance Plc, saying that the purported merger plan will not benefit shareholders.

According to the shareholders, mergers and acquisitions in the country have always been to the detriment of shareholders whose investments are always reduced drastically after the reconstruction of shares must have taken place.

Accordingly, the shareholders vowed that they will no longer fold their hands and watch their investments filter away in the name of mergers and acquisitions.

According to them, the reforms introduced by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria Mallam Sanusi Lamido  Sanusi which forced some banks to be nationalised while others were captured through  hostile acquisition leading to massive depreciation of investors holdings, will no longer happen again as they are ready to go to any extent to protect their investments.

The shareholders poured out their anger at the 18th Annual General Meeting of Linkage Assurance Plc held in Lagos last week.

Addressing shareholders at the meeting, President of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Boniface Okezie advised Linkage Assurance Board to do a rights issue as against merging its operation with that of another company.

According to him, with almost N1 billion in fresh funds coming from a major investor in the company, Bayelsa State Government and another N1 billion expected from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, being proceeds of previous rights issue that was trapped in the rested Allstates Trust Bank Plc, the company does not need any merger for survival.

He also advised the board to do a right issue, assuring that shareholders would be most willing to take up their rights in the company accordingly.

Also speaking on the issue, another shareholder, Mr. Nona Awo threatened that shareholders would not allow the company’s Board to rail-road them into a merger arrangement of 30:70 in favour of Cornerstone, adding that minority shareholders would definitely move against it.

Also, President of the Nigerian Shareholders Solidarity Association, Mr. Timothy Adesiyan said that shareholders were not afraid of merger but warned that shareholders would not close their eyes and allow the board to enter into merger arrangement with Cornerstone Insurance which he described as a dwarf.