New Owners To Retain Forte Oil Brand Name, As Share Price Drop 10%

The board of Forte Oil Plc, on Thursday, intimated stakeholders through the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that parties to the transaction that saw majority shareholder- Femi Otedola divest his 74.02% equity stake to new owners- Ignite
Investments and Commodities Limited led by Prudent Energy Services Limited agreed to retain the brand name.
The statement by Akinleye Olagbende, General Counsel and Company Secretary, did not, however, state for how long, but explained that the transition of the board of directors has begun and new directors have been appointed, subject to ratification by the shareholders at the next general meeting of the company.
Meanwhile, the company’s share price lost N3.45 or 9.96% at the end of Thursday’s trading session on the NSE, closing at N34.65 each, as stockbrokers crossed 4.468m units.

The statement said the conclusion of the transaction will see Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited, take over controlling stake in Forte Oil PLC and was consequent upon Ignite receiving all the necessary approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the NSE and fulfilling all relevant terms and conditions attached to the Share Purchase.
The statement quoted FO’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Akin Akinfemiwa as saying the transaction “concludes a very painstaking process and we believe that this transaction would optimize the existing capabilities inherent in the business and its people who are the key drivers of the business and propel the Company towards an assured future.”

Also, Chairman of Ignite and Chief Executive of Prudent Energy Services Limited, Abdulwasiu Sowami explained that “this investment is of strategic importance to support our quest of continuously adding value to the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The next phase of Forte Oil’s growth will focus on increasing volumes, diversifying business operations, widening distribution networks and extracting potential synergies with partners. We look forward to working as part of the Forte Oil family to achieve this growth.”
While Standard Chartered Bank, Corporate Finance & Advisory and Olaniwun Ajayi LP served as Financial and Legal advisors respectively to Otedola, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited were Joint Financial Advisors. On the other hand, Sefton Fross served as legal advisor to Ignite Investments and Commodities Limited.

https://investdata.com.ng/2019/06/new-owners-to-retain-forte-oil-brand-name-as-share-price-drop-10/