Nigeria: Guinness Nigeria's 39.70 billion naira share sale oversubscribed

Guinness Nigeria's 39.70 billion naira ($126 mln) share sale to existing shareholders was 116 percent subscribed, the company said on October 4.

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 percent 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 October 4 at 98.55 naira on the Lagos bourse, up about 18 percent so far this year.

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