BY PROVIDENCE OBUH, with agency report

LAGOS – THE Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has placed the shares of Ecobank Nigeria Plc on full suspension ahead of its planned delisting from the Daily Official List.

The suspension is following an application to the NSE by the bank after a court ordered meeting late last year between the bank and its shareholders.

At the meeting, shareholders of Ecobank endorsed the bank’s bid to acquire Oceanic Bank International Plc.

Prior to this, the shares of Oceanic Bank have been delisted from the official list of the NSE. However, shareholders of the new Ecobank will get one share in ETI for every 5.16 Ecobank shares owned.

Under the merger agreement, N2.6 billion is to be credited to Oceanic Bank shareholders as deposit for shares in Ecobank Nigeria and issued to Oceanic Bank shareholders as equity at N2.34 per Ecobank Nigeria share.

With this development, shareholders of Oceanic Bank will receive 16.1 billion new shares in Ecobank Nigeria.

Meanwhile, analysts in the capital market have disclosed that fuel subsidy removal will have a significant impact on the oil marketing companies quoted on the Nigerian Stock market.

Recalling activities in the stock market on January 3, 2012, the first trading day of the year, an analyst said Japaul Oil closed 4.44 per cent up at N0.94 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange; Eterna Oil was up by 1.35 per cent to N3.00 while all other stocks in sector did not show any movement.