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Demutualisation: NSE appoints Rand Merchant Bank, Chapel Hill as financial advisers

By on October 15, 2015

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has made a major move towards its demutualisation with the appointment of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Chapel Hill Denham (CHD) as financial advisers for the exercise. The NSE had in March 2014 invited qualified consortia to submit expression of interest (EOI) to work as financial advisers for the demutualisation.

According to the NSE, RMB and CHD were appointed after a very rigorous and extensive process. RMB is the corporate and investment banking arm of FirstRand, one of Africa’s largest, listed financial services groups. On the other hand, CHD is a leading Nigerian investment bank, providing financial advisory services to domestic and international corporations, institutions, governments and individual clients, investing in Africa.

“As part of the EOI, potential financial advisors (FAs) were required to express their interests as a consortium of one international and one Nigerian investment bank, where at least one party of the consortium had participated in thedemutualisation of a securities exchange as lead adviser,” the exchange said in a statement.

“The qualifying consortia were sent the RFP and 13 proposals were received by deadline date. These proposals were reviewed extensively and scored (technical and financial considerations) by NSE. After a round of presentations, only three consortia progressed to the final stage which was aimed at picking the most competent consortium and extracting the best value for NSE.”

Commenting on the appointment, the Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said: “This appointment affirms our commitment to achieving thedemutualisation of the NSE in a methodical and transparent fashion. This step is pivotal to a professional and successful conversion of the Exchange from a member-owned mutual organization to shareholder-owned public limited liability company that aligns with global best practices.”

Onyema reiterated the commitment of the NSE  toensuring that the interests of all members are protected in the demutualisation exercise.

“We have implemented a number of initiatives to strengthen and improve governance at the exchange. Thisdemutualisation process will contribute to the sustenance and enhancement of our governance. We are truly encouraged by the support from our stakeholders, particularly our Regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission for creating the appropriate framework to accelerate the process that would engender a more open, transparent and credible Exchange,” Onyema said.

Also commenting, the CEO of RMB Nigeria and Regional Head for West Africa, Mr. Michael Larbie, said: “RMB is delighted to be assisting the NSE with thedemutualisation. We believe a demutualisation will further strengthen the NSE’s position as a leading exchange in Africa. We intend to leverage our deep advisory and structuring expertise and in-depth understanding of the Global Market Structure and Broker Dealer sector to support the process.”

Similarly, the CEO of Chapel Hill Denham said: “Chapel Hill Denham is honoured to have been selected by the NSE on this most important engagement. We look forward to working with the exchange and all its stakeholders in delivering a successful outcome.”

 

[ThisDay]