Afrinvest Initial public offering

Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited, a firm of fund managers, has concluded arrangements to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its mutual fund to raise N5 billion. The initial public offering is expected to start next Monday.A statement made available to THISDAY yesterday said the company will be offering 50 million units of the Fund at N100 each at par to the general public from August 4 to September 10, 2008, the period of the offer period.

The statement said the Fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation of its assets by investing in high quality equity securities quoted on The Nigerian Stock Exchange as well as other securities approved by the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Trustees. The Fund is constituted under a trust deed with UBA Trustees Limited as the Trustee to the Fund.The statement said directors of Afrinvest who met yesterday at the Completion Board Meeting, finalised arrangements for the initial public offering of its debut mutual fund. Chairman of the company, Apostle Hayford Alile, was quoted as saying: “We are quite excited about the prospects of the Afrinvest Equity Fund. It is the first time that we are inviting the general public to participate in a mutual fund.

Our Company possesses considerable portfolio management capabilities. As you may be aware, Afrinvest is the only asset manager in Nigeria to be rated A+ by Global Credit Rating, an international rating agency.”Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said: “Afrinvest possesses the necessary asset/portfolio management expertise required to achieve the Fund’s forecast return on investment of 16.42 per cent, 29.86 per cent and 26.68 per cent over the next three years”. Afrinvest, formerly known as Securities & Trust Transactions Company Limited (SecTrust), is a pioneering firm in the Nigerian asset management field. It launched and managed the first Dollar denominated fixed income fund, the “Nigerian International Debt Fund” in 1997. Deputy Managing Director of Afrinvest, Mr. Ike Chioke, noted that “current market conditions presents a buying opportunity for the discerning investor and the Fund, with the minimum subscription of N50000, is an attractive investment vehicle for a wide pool of investors who may otherwise not have substantial resources needed to buy their preferred stocks or who are unable to have direct access to the Nigerian capital market.” He also noted that the Fund is open to investment from foreign investors and non-resident Nigerians.Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, (the Issuing House to the IPO),Mr. Tayo Aderinokun, said stated that “GTBank is confident that subscribers will benefit immensely from investing in the Fund.”The occasion also had the representatives of the Securities & Exchange Commission and The Nigerian Stock Exchange in attendanceAfrinvest has grown to become one of the leading corporate finance and advisory companies in Nigeria. The firm, which employs international best practice in all areas of its business, is engaged in investment banking, investment research, securities trading and fund/portfolio management.

The firm has also participated in most of the recent landmark corporate finance transactions in Nigeria to date