Guinness Nigeria’s $126m share sale oversubscribed

Guinness Nigeria’s 39.70 billion naira ($126m) share sale to existing shareholders was 116 per cent subscribed, the company said on Wednesday.
The brewer, the local unit of the world’s leading spirit maker Diageo, said in a statement it sold five new shares from the company to shareholders for every 11 held, at 58 naira each.
The company, which is 54 per cent owned by Diageo, said two shareholders applied for 50 million shares and above during the rights issue.
Diageo has said it was willing to take up its rights in the share issue to maintain its shareholding.
The company had been seeking to raise funds to strengthen its balance sheet after it posted its first annual loss in 30 years in the 12 months to June 2016.
Guinness Nigeria shares traded flat on Wednesday at 98.55 naira on the Lagos bourse, up about 18 percent so far this year.
Credit: Reuters