Money Markets
TransCentury closes register ahead of shares listing at NSE
Chief Executive Officer Trans Century Gachao Kiuna speaks during the release of their report on March 28, 2011 at the Norfork hotel.
Posted Friday, May 27 2011 at 00:00
TransCentury will not admit new shareholders from Friday next week when it closes its register in readiness for listing at the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
The listing through introduction — which does not involve raising money from the public as only existing shares are floated — is expected to be concluded in five weeks, paying the way for investors to buy shares in the investments firm in the secondary market.
“Thereafter, the trading of shares in TransCentury will reopen when the company begins to trade formally in the Nairobi Stock Exchange subject to receiving regulatory approvals,” said transaction adviser Dyer & Blair in a report.
Transfer of shares
The closure of the register is meant to allow for the transfer of shares to the electronic registry maintained by the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation (CDSC ).
The memorandum for the listing is currently being reviewed by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
The share is currently trading at a high of Sh45 in the over-the-counter (OTC) market with demand rising as the listing approaches.
The company recently acquired 80 per cent of Pende Electrical, based in the copper-belt region of Zambi,a through its Tanzania subsidiary Tanelec Ltd.
“Our plan is to invest in infrastructure across the region with focus on mines, engineering and Transport,” said TransCentury CEO Gachau Kiuna.
The listing is intended to help the company’s 300 shareholders discover the value of their investments and to open it to a broader array of owner interests, especially from long-term institutional investors. The company was put on the OTC market in April 2009 at Sh50 a share.
However, the lack of liquidity in the largely opaque OTC market has depressed the value of the share to between Sh40 and Sh45.
“The company is worth no less than Sh70 a share, perhaps double the current price. Listing should help in discovering a higher price,” said Mr Onesmus Kihara, a dealer at Dyer & Blair Investment bank which has been dealing in the shares.
The company is seeking to list on the alternative investment market segment (AIMS) which has less rigorous requirements compared to the main investment market segment (MIMS) on the NSE.
To list on AIMS, the Capital Markets Authority requires that a company must have at least 100 shareholders, with more than a fifth of the shares in the hands of investors who are not employees or relatives of the principle shareholders.
To be listed on the main investment segment, the firm would have been required to have at least 1,000 shareholders, net assets of Sh100 million and paid-up share capital of Sh50 million. TransCentury would meets the latter two conditions for the segment.
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