Merger: Diamond Bank dominates activity on NSE

Diamond Bank Plc dominated trading activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday, following its acquisition by Access Bank Plc.

Our correspondent reports that the bank exchanged 70.98 million shares worth N72.64 million in 129 deals.

Mr Ambrose Omordion attributed the development to the bank’s official acquisition by Access Bank.

Omordion said that the business combination was a good deal for Diamond Bank shareholders as the bank would pay N1 per share plus two units of Access Bank for every seven units of Diamond Bank shares.

“For instance, if you had 10,000 units of Diamond Bank shares, you will get N10,000 and 2,857 units of Access Bank shares.

“This is a good deal for holders of Diamond bank shares. But investors need to confirm what the cut-off date will be,” he said.

Mansard Insurance followed with an account of 20.03 million shares, valued at N40.06 million in eight deals, while FBN Holdings traded 16.52 million shares worth N120.19 million in 175 deals.

Access Bank sold 13.62 million shares, valued at N180. 55 million transacted in 254 deals, while Trancorp exchanged 12.29 million shares worth N14.18 million traded in 108 deals.

An analysis of the price movement table showed that Cement Company of Northern Nigeria led the gainers’ table, gaining N1.45 to close at N17.15 per share.

Access Bank followed with a gain of 70k to close at N8.15, while International Breweries gained 50k to close at N30.50 per share.

Flour Mills increased by 45k to close at N21, while Fidson Healthcare added 35k to close at N4.95 per share.

On the other hand, CAP recorded the highest loss, dropping by N2.40 to close at N34.85 per share.

Forte Oil trailed with a loss of N2.40 to close at N21.70, while Guaranty Trust Bank declined by 95k to close at N34.05 per share.

Unilever dipped 85k to close at N38.05, while Lafarge Africa was down by 50k to close at N11.95 per share.

Specifically, the All-Share Index, which opened at 30,681.50, shed 73.44 points or 0.24 per cent to close at 30,608.06.

Also, the market capitalisation closed lower at N11.180 trillion, shedding N26 billion compared with N11.206 trillion on Friday.