Nine years after, SAHCOL goes public with N406m share offer

The planned enlistment of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) into the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) has finally come to fruition as the company officially issued an initial public offer for sale of 406,074,000 equity which opens between November 12 and December 19, 2018.

This also implies that the ground handling company has metamorphosed to Skyway Aviation Handling Company PLC (SAHCO).

At the signing ceremony witnessed by the DirectorGeneral of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, its shareholders and other stakeholders, the company is offering an ordinary share of 50 kobo each at N4.65 per share payable in full.

SAHCOL was one of the ground handling arms of the defunct Nigeria Airways which was privatized in 2009 with the Federal Government selling 100 per cent equity stake to Sifax Group.

In line with the agreement with the BPE, the company was expected to go public after five years of operations but the enlistment did not happen until 2018.

Chairman of the company, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi said based on the terms of the executed Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) in respect of the privatization, the shareholders of the company were obligated to divest 49% equity stake in SAHCO to the Public.

The chairman explained that the current shareholders would divest N406m ordinary shares of 50 kobo each representing 30 percent of the entire issued and fully paid up Ordinary Shares in compliance with the terms of the SSPA.