Aluko & Oyebode acted as transaction counsel in connection with the initial public offering of shares (IPO) by Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), Nigeria’s most prominent aviation ground handling service provider. The shares would be listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange in the only IPO to be brought to The Nigerian capital market over the past four years.
Under the IPO, Sifax Group (the majority shareholder of SAHCO) is offering for sale 406,074,000 shares of 50 kobo each at N4.65 per share. This represents 30 percent of the entire issued and fully paid up share capital of SAHCO.
The IPO is in furtherance of the provisions of a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) which was executed between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Sifax Group during the privatisation of the erstwhile Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited. Under the SSPA, Sifax Group is required to divest a 49 percent equity stake in SAHCO and offer it to the Nigerian public. It is also required to sell 10 percent of the shares divested to the staff of SAHCO.
The transaction will assist to deepen and diversify the Nigerian capital market and is a major milestone for the privatisation programme in Nigeria. It would provide an opportunity for Nigerians to invest in the assets of the company, which was hitherto privatised by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The Aluko & Oyebode transaction team was led by Capital Markets Partner, Olubunmi Fayokun, who was assisted by Senior Associate, Jennifer Martins-Okundia, and Associates, Chidiebere Odoemenam, and Chiderah Azodoh.
