Transnational Incorporated Plc has announced plans to raise N15bn from the capital market.
The company said the fund, which will likely be raised through Rights Issue, would be used for the expansion of its business activities.
The Chairman, Transcorp, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said this at a meeting in Lagos on Thursday.
He said specifically, the company, which has investments in power, hotel, agriculture and oil and gas, would use the fund to refinance a power project and expand investments in oil exploration and hotels.
“The fund, which will be raised by sale of shares to existing investors, will be combined with loans from banks to seek a lower interest rate for the Ughelli Power unit. Some of the fund will go toward developing an oil concession and building more hotels,” Bloomberg News quoted him as saying.
Recently, Nigeria signed deals to sell 15 state-owned power companies to buyers, including Transcorp, which bought the Ughelli Power Plant, the Bureau for Public Enterprises said last month.
Transcorp jointly owns an oil lease with Johannesburg-based SacOil Holding Limited and London-based Energy Equity Resources Limited in the Niger-Delta region.
The company had announced in May that it planned to build eight hotels that trade under the Hilton brand in Nigeria.
Transcorp’s shares gained 4.3 per cent to N1.47 at the close of trading activities on Thursday, and it has advanced by 40 per cent this year, compared with a 20 per cent rise in the All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Last year, Elumelu had said the various investment and strategic decisions undertaken by the company had begun to pay-off for the business.
He said, “The conglomerate announced a strong improvement in its operating and financial performance as it begins to experience the benefits of recent changes made in its strategic direction and key management, along with a renewed focus on corporate governance.
“During the year, the conglomerate took several significant steps in its key sectors of agri-business, energy and hospitality that would no doubt see it taking its rightful place as a key player in the economic development and transformation of Nigeria.” He explained to shareholders that Transnational Hotels and Tourism Services Limited, another subsidiary of Transcorp, had commenced the execution of its expansion plans to fully utilise the massive unutilised land on its Transcorp Hilton Abuja site and roll out new hotels across major economic centres in the country such as Lagos and Port Harcourt.
He stated that in addition, Transcorp Energy Limited had signed a partnership agreement with Symbion Power, a United States-based energy company, which would lead to a significant increase in power production for the benefit of the nation.