EXCLUSIVE: Access Bank’s Takeover Bid For First Guarantee Pensions Raises Dust

Latest moves by Access Bank Plc to acquire First Guarantee Pensions Limited (FGPL), a pension fund administrator (PFA), is now met with the stoutest resistance from shareholders who believe that the process contravenes the law, specifically the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.

The takeover bid is allegedly on the strength of recapitalisation efforts by PFAs to  meet the minimum capital benchmark set by the regulator the National Pensions Commission (PenCom).

Prime Business Africa reliably gathered that an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)  was fixed for Tuesday April 5 in an apparent move to suspend the Preemptive Rights of shareholders and enable Access Bank buy out the shares of  FGPL shareholders.

READ ALSO: Why Access Bank’s Takeover Bid For First Guarantee Pensions Fails On CAMA – Lawyer

But  some of the shareholders, in opposition to the move, are of the opinion that the ‘hurried deal’  is in clear violation of the law, especially as a statutory  28 days  notice is required for an EGM in that regard.

It is not certain if their protest letters to FGPL and  PENCOM  since the less than two weeks notice was given were able  to block today’s contested EGM. But indications are rife that both FGPL and Access Bank  are determined to drive the process to a successful conclusion despite opposition.

It was gathered on good authority that, following the resistance the move to waive the preemptive rights of shareholders has been met with, the planned EGM was rescheduled at least twice before today’s (Tuesday) controversial meeting.

Despite protests by aggrieved shareholders, the controversial EGM  was set to hold on Tuesday March 5 2022, subject to passing a special resolution of shareholders to abridge the CAMA- specified (28 days) notice period for the meeting.

Tuesday’s EGM is in proposition for suspension of the Articles and waiver of preemptive rights of members to be passed by special resolutions.

One of the proposed special resolutions to be adopted at the EGM is the suspension of the provisions of Articles 17 to 25 of FGPL’s Memorandum and Articles of of Association, for the purpose of the meeting.’

The Resolutions will result in the waiving of the preemptive  rights of each shareholder and would permit the shareholders to offer their shares to a third party.

A Special Resolution  is expected to be passed at the meeting to waive the 28 days’ notice period to facilitate the commencement of the EGM. A special resolution is also expected to be passed at the meeting to give every shareholder the right to take up their rights issue shares.

Opposing views within the shareholding structure of  FGPL, however, believe that the arrangement clearly does not consider the illegality of the proposed resolutions whether passed by special resolutions or not.