City, Nigeria – E get as market dey hot o! Today, July 18, 2025, wahala don burst for Fidelity Bank Plc as 1,140,866,892 shares cross hands in nine big deals. Na Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) wey sell am, while na one oil and gas big man from Niger Delta buy am. Wetin dey happen? (This no be regular market matter o!)
Cross-deal no be small thing as Apel Asset Management Ltd and CardinalStone Securities Ltd dey the middle of this transaction. But e be like say Fidelity Bank wan keep quiet, because dem never talk anything officially yet. Everybody dey watch as dem dey suspect wetin dis move fit mean for the bank’s future. (The suspense dey build like soap opera o!)
You fit recall say AMCON carry plenty shares during the banking wahala for 2009. Dis large sell fit mean say dem dey plan come out from Fidelity Bank. Meanwhile, as dem cross these huge shares, Fidelity Bank share price no even budge. Na wah! E close today for N21.10, wey be 2.1% below yesterday’s N21.55. (E no sweet like palm wine, I swear!)
This transaction follow after another big market shuffle wey involve FBN Holdings Plc, where over 10.4 billion shares sell for N323.4 billion just few days ago. E no too dey far fetch to think say dem dey reposition themselves for Nigerian banking scene. Fidelity Bank dey shine bright following their good financial performance wey dem release for Q1 2025. Dem report pre-tax profit of N107.77 billion, wey be 167.8% increase year-on-year. (Dem don carry ‘big boy’ status come back o!)
The MD of Fidelity Bank even talk say dem don meet their capital-raise target during this capital-raise exercise. Na so dem launch 10 billion shares at N9.75 for public and another 3.2 billion shares at N9.25 for rights issue. Omo, the shares don oversubscribe, and now dem don get SEC approval to extend am and issue another 8.2 billion shares, bringing total to whopping 21.4 billion shares. (Talk about successful planning!)
Fidelity Bank dey plan raise the remaining balance before 2026 deadline to enter tier-one bank status. Na gist we go continue to follow, but for now, make we siddon and watch as dis banking drama unfold. Who know wetin go happen next!
