Sterling Financial Holdings begins share capital reconstruction

Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has commenced a share capital reconstruction to consolidate its equity structure. The process involves a 90 percent reduction in issued shares, consolidating every ten existing ordinary shares into one new share. This move will reduce the company’s issued shares from 68.5 billion to 6.85 billion.

The restructuring follows a period of significant financial growth, with the group reporting a 20.4 percent increase in first-half profit after tax to N50.3 billion and total assets reaching N4.67 trillion. The company aims to simplify its equity structure, improve capital-structure efficiency, and make per-share performance more comparable for investors.

Trading of the company’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange Limited was suspended on September 23 to facilitate the adjustment. The suspension is expected to last up to ten working days, through October 7, while the Central Securities Clearing System and Pace Registrars reconcile holdings and update the shareholder register. The reconstruction does not constitute a fresh capital raise and does not change total shareholders’ funds; the reference price will be adjusted by the same factor to ensure no immediate gain or loss in value for investors.