Prime Business Africa
Barely three months after listing Zichis Agro Allied Industries’ shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), also known as the stock market, the promotor of the firm and its executives are dumping shares after the value surged by threefold.
According to analysis by Prime Business Africa, Winners Investment Trust Co Ltd, the
promoter of Zichis, Chilla Entertainment Ltd, a
substantial shareholder of Zichis, Ogbaisi Chris Ahetuamhen, the executive director (finance), and Solomon Itsede, the company’s secretary, offloaded 49.19 million shares between March 24 and March 27.
Itsede sold 192,800 shares to take out N1.99 million from his investment in Zichis on March 24, and two days later, Ahetuamhen sold 1 million shares to take out N12.54 billion.
Also, on March 26, Chilla Entertainment chairman, who serves as a non-executive director of Zichis, took out N170.54 million from the agro film after selling 13.6 million shares.
In addition, on March 26 and 27, Chilla Entertainment sold a separate 19 million shares, removing N250.04 million from its investment in Zichis, and another 5.4 million shares, to take out N74.46 million on March 27.
Similarly, Winners Investment Trust took out N137.9 million shares after selling 10 million shares of Zichis on March 27, according to analysis of Prime Business Africa.
The sale of shares by the substantial investors and top representatives of Zichis comes after the share of the company hit an all-time high (ATI) and a probe into the cause of the surge by the NGX, the Nigerian stock market regulator.
Zichis share price had surged by 772.36 percent or N15.37 kobo within one month, from the N1.99 kobo on the first day of trading on the NGX on January 20 to N17.36 kobo on February 20.
The surge resulted in an investigation by the NGX and a suspension on the trading of Zichis shares from February 23 to March 23.
Following the probe and the lifting of the suspension on Zichis shares, the share value crashed by N7.93 kobo to N9.43 kobo.
A day after the value of the share plunged by 45.67 percent, the promoter of the film and other investors and representatives started taking out part of their investments in the agro company.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
