Zenith Bank Headquarters

Zenith Bank Plc has appointed JP Morgan to facilitate a secondary listing of its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Reuters quoted the bank to have said yesterday.

The listing is planned to be through a Global Depository Receipt (GDR), a tool used to facilitate investments and trading in the shares of companies from emerging markets.

The top-tier commercial bank also announced in an advertorial in a national newspaper yesterday that it will seek shareholders' approval for the listing on November 21 and that one GDR will represent 50 ordinary shares in the local bank.

Zenith, which is listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has a total market capitalisation of N565.765 billion as at yesterday. It closed at N18.02 per share on the NSE.

The deal is subject to regulatory approval, the bank said, adding that it wanted to improve liquidity for its shares with the transaction and not to raise capital.

“Listing on the LSE creates new opportunities for increasing  liquidity in our securities and diversification of our investor base,” Reuters quoted Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to have said.

Therefore, Zenith Bank joins the league of four other Nigerian banks - Guaranty Trust Bank, Diamond Bank, United Bank for Africa and First Bank - with GDRs trading in London or New York.