Dangote Cement Plc (DCP or DangCem) has announced the commencement of the first tranche of its newly established share buy-back programme targeting the repurchase of up to 168.7 million shares from its shareholders.
The cement manufacturer announced in a filling at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) that shareholders of the company had approved the buy-back programme since December 13, 2022 when it had an Extraordinary General Meeting.
Based on the shareholders’ approval, the number of shares to be repurchased under the Share Buy-Back Programme will not exceed 168,735,592.51, representing 1% of Dangote Cement’s issued share capital. The 1% is valued at N50.64 billion based on the company’s closing price of N300.1 as of Friday.
Checks by BUSINESS METRICS shows that the company has approximately 16.875 billion share (16,873,559,251) fully paid-up ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each, excluding treasury shares.
A treasury stock or reacquired stock is stock which is bought back by the issuing company, reducing the amount of outstanding stock on the open market.
The share buy-back programme is being executed in tranches, with Tranche I being executed by the appointed stockbrokers, on the Company’s behalf.
Meanwhile, Market dealers told BUSINESS METRICS that Meristem Securities Limited and Vetiva Capital Management Limited have been appointed by Dangote to execute the buy-back exercise.
Through its appointed stockbrokers, company said it will use discretion to purchase the shares in the open market over the duration of Tranche I, subject to prevailing market conditions and under the current daily trading rules of the NGX.
According to the filling signed by Temilade Aduroja Head, Investor Relations, DangCem would not be under any obligation whatsoever to purchase any or all of the DCP shares put on offer over the duration of Tranche I.
The statement partly read: “The shares being bought back by the Company under the Share Buy-Back Programme will be held as treasury shares, as permissible under Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). Execution of this Tranche I is not expected to have any material impact on the Company’s financial position.”
To Participate
Meanwhile, Dangote Cement Plc directed its shareholders seeking to participate in the Tranche I of the Share Buy-Back programme to contact their stockbrokers or any other independent professional adviser registered as a capital market operator by the SEC for further guidance on the submission of trades on the NGX’s trading platform.
It further promised to provide weekly updates on the progress of Tranche I of the Programme on its website over the duration of this tranche.
“The Company will continue to monitor the evolving business environment and market conditions, in making decisions on subsequent tranches of the Share Buy-Back Programme.
“Shareholders and investors are advised to exercise caution when dealing in the securities of Dangote Cement until the completion of Tranche I of the Share Buy-Back Programme. An announcement will be published upon completion of Tranche I of the Programme,” it concluded.
Meanwhile, it is noteworthy that the exercise is being carried out within the framework provided under Section 186 (c) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, No. 3 of 2020 (as amended) (CAMA) and Rule 398 (3)(xiv) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Rules and Regulations, 2013 (as amended from time to time) and in accordance with Rule 13.18 of the Rulebook of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), 2015.
