APPLICATION list for the ongoing N16 billion rights issue by UACN Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc will close on Friday, March 13. Application list had opened Monday, February 10.

UPDC is offering 15.96 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to its shareholders at a price of N1 per share. The rights issue was pre-allotted on the basis of 43 new ordinary shares for seven ordinary shares held as at the close of business on September 30, 2019.

Shareholders of UPDC had earlier approved a resolution authorising the board to raise up to N16 billion in new capital through issuance of equities, bonds and other convertible and nom-convertible securities. Shareholders also approved a resolution empowering the board to obtain a N16 billion bridging finance from its parent company, UAC of Nigeria (UACN).

Nigeria's oldest surviving conglomerate, UAC of Nigeria (UACN) Plc had unveiled a massive restructuring programme that would see the unbundling of its publicly quoted real estate subsidiary, UPDC and its associated company- UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (UPDC REIT).

Under the first part of the multi-structured restructuring plan, UPDC will float a rights issue of N15.96 billion to reduce outstanding debt to a level that it is serviceable from recurring cashflows. After this, UPDC will unbundle its shareholding in UPDC REIT by directly transferring the shares to its shareholders on the basis of post-rights issue shareholdings. Thus UPDC's shareholders will become direct shareholders in UPDC REIT.

On the second part, UACN will unbundle its majority equity stake in UPDC by directly transferring its shareholdings in the real estate company to UACN's shareholders, thus making the existing UACN's shareholders the direct owners of shares in UPDC. UACN will also unbundle the shares of UPDC REIT allocated to it under the UPDC-UPDCREIT transaction to its shareholders, thus making UACN's shareholders direct owners in UPDC REIT.

'On the account of UPDC's unbundling of its interest in the UPDC REIT, post the implementation of the respective strategic initiatives described above, each UAC shareholder will hold shares in three separate entities-UAC, UPDC and the UPDC REIT benefitting from the future prospects of each,' UACN and UPDC stated in a statement on the proposed transactions.

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan